More than 70 Alaska high school students from 13 districts participated in the 2018
Educators Rising (EdRising) Alaska State Conference, held on the University of Alaska
Fairbanks campus on March 25-26, to explore education careers and develop leadership
skills.
The conference, organized by EdRising Alaska in collaboration with the UAF School
of Education and Rural Student Services, featured mock interview and resume-writing
sessions, a tour of the campus, and activity and information sessions with UAF’s Rural
Student Services and School of Education.
Guest speakers offered perspectives from different stages of an education career.
Speakers included Amanda Friendshuh, EdRising Alaska 2017 student president and an
education major at the University of Alaska Southeast, Ben Walker, an Anchorage middle
school teacher and recipient of the 2018 Alaska Teacher of the Year Award, and Steve
Atwater, Interim Dean of the UAF School of Education.
Educators Rising Alaska helps high school students explore careers in teaching. Fewer
than half of Alaska’s teachers are prepared in-state, so EdRising Alaska gives Alaska
high school students ways to explore education careers and provides their mentors
with professional development.
