Deadline to apply is April 15th, 2022
About the FAI Summer Internship Program
The First Alaskans Institute (FAI) 2022 Summer Internship Program (SIP) places Alaska Native, American Indian, Indigenous and rural community members and students into organizations around Alaska to provide leadership growth and employment experience and exploration. The program is designed to help those who show a high level of community leadership and commitment prepare for their careers, further or advance their education or training, and engage in other professional opportunities that strengthen their ability to help serve and advance our Alaska Native community. Throughout the program interns will examine priorities that benefit our extended Alaska Native family that include:
- Advancing Self Determination
- Advancing Our Ways of Life
- Knowing, Living, and Loving Who We Are
- Shaping the Knowledge That Informs Alaskans
- Being Good Relatives
We aim to develop leaders that understand their own histories and traditions, bringing awareness of current and emerging issues, and to provide practical experiences for them to draw from. We have the expectation of encouraging leaders who contribute to the Native community by participating in boards and commissions, service projects, networking with community leaders and engaging in the decision making process for issues that are crucial to the advancement of Alaska Natives.
Employer Partners & Communities
FAI values our partnerships across the state as we seek to ensure meaningful employment opportunities for the interns and their employers. Interns will have the option to help establish partnerships with new employers if current options are not relevant, especially where it will allow them to return to their home village or region. Since 2004, FAI has placed 377 interns in over 137 different Employer Partner organizations in 26 communities across Alaska. For a full list of previous Employer Partners, download here (PDF).
How to Apply to be an Intern
Priority placement is given to juniors, seniors and recent graduates in college or vocational school, graduate students, and/or community members whose life experience and work history showcase a commitment to serving our Native peoples but have not enrolled in higher education. At a bare minimum, applicants must be high school graduates or equivalent. The online application requires submission of:
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- Unofficial Transcripts
- Resume
- Biography
- Reflective Essay or Video
- 2 Letters of Recommendation
- Tribal ID card or Certificate of Indian Blood
- Photo
Intern Placement Process
When an applicant is offered and accepts an intern position, they will have the opportunity to review all Employer Partner applications. They will then select their top five choices of where they would like to be placed. Employer Partners will simultaneously be reviewing all interns profiles (application, resume, essays), and will make their top five choices. FAI will then match up intern and Employer Partner preferences as much as possible.
Leadership Development Retreats & Leadership Fridays will:
- Help interns understand the qualities, characteristics, traits, choices and actions of effective Native leaders;
- Discuss political, economic, education and social issues and their historical impacts on Native people, politics, and leaders;
- Help interns understand their own personality traits, their personal interactions and choices, and provide some practical tools for effective planning and decision-making;
- Train interns in successful management practices for organizations (finance, human resources, communications, planning, board-staff relationships, public relations, politics, etc.);
- Train interns in the processes of policy formation at various levels of government;
- Present and discuss current issues in the context of Native cultural values; and
- Familiarize interns with methods and institutions of community service (e.g., volunteering, educational mentoring, child-care and development, Elder care, etc.).
Questions?
If you have any questions or need a hard copy of the application, contact Karla G̲a̲tgyedm Hana̲’a̲x Booth at 907.677.1700 or leadership@firstalaskans.org.
