Imagine earning college credit while hiking mountains in the Alaskan wilderness, bonding with fellow students around campfires, and seeing animals such as moose, bears, caribou, and eagles. Houghton College launched a new study abroad program this semester, Arctic Studies in Alaska, that makes those experiences a reality. While Professor of Biology James Wolfe has been taking students to Alaska during Mayterm since 1991, this semester marks the first time that Houghton has offered a full semester program in Alaska.
According to Wolfe, who is the primary organizer of the Arctic Studies program, a total of ten students from Houghton and other Christian colleges are enrolled in the program this semester. All students take four core courses: Ecology of Alaska, Human Ecology, Alaskan Missions, and Wilderness Recreation and Management. These courses help students gain “an appreciation for the different Alaskan cultures, for both historic and current missionary efforts to reach natives, as well as for the numerous recreational aspects of being in the wilderness of Alaska,” said Wolfe. He added that students can add independent studies to their core, and this semester students are studying subjects such as Alaskan flora and the relation of observed moose browsing activity to moose density.
The program is based at the former Alaska Bible College campus in Glennallen, Alaska, Wolfe said. Alaska Bible College has moved their campus to a different location, making the campus in Glennallen available to Houghton College. According to TravelAlaska’s website, the southern Alaska town of Glennallen is positioned as an ideal “a jumping-off point to the largest national park in the United States, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.” The town has “an imposing backdrop” of mountains and is “a great vantage point for viewing the northern lights” in winter, TravelAlaska noted. In fact, students in the program experienced the northern lights early in September. The Houghton College Arctic Studies in Alaska Facebook page described the experience: “At 1:30 am, the sky started to open up and dance, turning green with hints of pinks, yellows, and purples!” In addition to experiences on the Glennallen campus, students have had the opportunity to take field trips to nearby locations, including Fairbanks, Kenai Fjords National Park, Denali National Park, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
At the Glennallen campus, students have access to a large dorm building, classrooms, a chapel space, a library, a gym, and a cafeteria called “The Food Cache.” There are also cottages and apartments on campus, which are rented to local Alaska residents. The campus is adjacent to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, which gives students ready access to a hands-on learning environment. This semester, Assistant Professor of Recreation Laura Alexeichik is the primary professor for the Arctic Studies program.
Since starting their semester on August 1st, students have had numerous opportunities to interact with their new environment. Gabrielle Brewster ’18, a student in the program, wrote of her experience during a trip to the city of Valdez, “The salmon were running as they returned to their birthplace to spawn…the return of salmon to the region brought with it sea lions, birds, and bears.” She added, “We then went to Tok, where Dr. Wolfe’s cousin generously invited us all over for a dinner of moose burgers, and they were delicious!” Another student, Tyler Cline ’19, said, “This semester is providing me with a radically new outlook on environmental and human interactions…we are able to get up close and personal with all of the things that we are learning in class. In addition to all we are learning, it’s also nice to be able to take a stroll and see the beautiful mountains!”
Wolfe said that programs like Arctic Studies in Alaska are few and far between due to the remoteness of Alaska. “There’s a lot of people talking about the Arctic, but there are very few college programs that are actually based up there,” he said. Learning in Alaska can provide students with a useful and unique perspective, Wolfe suggested, and said that the program gives students “a sense for the enormity of wilderness” and equips them with knowledge of “the types of science that can be done in an [Arctic] environment.” In future years, the program may expand to reach a wider market of students, such as Christian students at non-Christian universities. Wolfe said of the program, “It’s a challenge, but it’s exciting, and I think the students are amazed at what’s up there and how different it is than down here.”