43 students asked for 3 spots. Here's how Kodiak can say yes to more of them.
This October, KEDC opened applications for Work Local, Kodiak's first paid student internship. We hoped for a solid handful of applicants. In about two weeks, 25 students applied. After the deadline closed, 18 more reached out to ask if they could still apply.
That's 43 young people raising their hands for three paid spots.
To keep the process fair to everyone who applied on time, we couldn't add late applicants to this round. But we haven't stopped thinking about them. Forty-three students asking for a way into local work isn't just a number. It's Kodiak's next workforce telling us they're ready.
What the students told us
When we asked applicants which skills they most wanted to practice, the same answers came up again and again: working with others and listening, planning their time and meeting deadlines, and following through on a task on their own. They wrote about wanting real work experience, more confidence with people, and a résumé they could actually use.
Those are the same skills Kodiak employers say they need. At our April 2026 Workforce Forum, 85 employers, educators and agency staff named communication, reliability, initiative and teamwork as the skills new hires most often lack.
Students and employers are describing the same gap from opposite sides. Work Local is built to close it.
Why this matters for Kodiak
All of us who call this island home understand the limitations that come from the remoteness. Young people who leave after high school often don't come back, and local employers struggle to fill jobs. Each problem feeds the other. The reality is the fewer local paths a young person can see, the more likely they are to leave.
At the same time, Kodiak is growing. Coast Guard Base Kodiak is expanding, and the Pacific Spaceport is being upgraded. Many new small businesses are starting here! Those jobs, and the local businesses that serve a growing community, will need people who know the island and want to stay. We'd rather they grow up here than be recruited from somewhere else.
That's what we mean by Grow here. Work here. Stay here.
What Work Local is
Starting in November, three paid student interns join KEDC through May, working about five to six hours a week at our downtown office around their classes. They'll learn office, communications and community outreach skills by doing real work: project management, writing, photography, social media, event planning and support, and visiting local workplaces.
Local businesses are at the center of what they learn. Sponsors become the interns' classroom. Interns visit sponsor businesses to learn how they handle admin, communications, and customer outreach. They will then share their stories on KEDC's website, emails, and social media. Every sponsor receives a written case study of their business from the students' point of view and an invitation to our spring showcase.
Not a "no," but a "not yet"
Telling so many eager students "not this time" has been the hardest part of this fall. If the only answer they hear is no, most won't ask again. So we're working to give them a real next step.
KEDC has applied for additional grant funding to create a spring project for the students we couldn't hire. Led by our three interns as peer leaders, teams of students would explore what it takes for young people to build a life and a career in Kodiak, then present what they learn to local employers and partners. KEDC is incredibly thankful that Kodiak College, the Kodiak Island Borough School District, Kodiak High School, KANA and the Kodiak Job Center have all committed to help if it's funded.
We've also applied for funding for the equipment our interns need, and we're pursuing longer-term support to grow Work Local beyond three interns. We'll share news as it comes.
Grants can help start something.
Local sponsors are what keep it going.
How you can be part of it
Sponsorships start at $400. Businesses that commit by Friday, November 20 will be featured as Founding Sponsors in our December announcement introducing the interns. Commit for two years at this year's rate, and your business keeps Founding Sponsor recognition permanently.
Crew, $400: an intern visits your business, you receive a one-page case study, and your business is featured in a social media post and listed at the showcase.
Navigator, $1,000: all three interns visit, you receive a two-page case study with a review of your website and social media, and you're recognized from the stage at the showcase.
Homeport, $2,500: "Presented by" recognition, a visit from all three interns plus a half-day job shadow, and a case study presented to your staff. Two of three Homeport spots remain.
See the sponsorship levels and sign up →
Not a business owner? You can still help. Share this post with a business you think should be part of it, and tell a student about Work Local's next cohort.
Forty-three students told us they're ready to grow here, work here and stay here. Let's show them Kodiak is ready for them too.
Melissa Schoenwether, Executive Director, Kodiak Economic Development Corporation
