Interning at Alyeska Pipeline Service Company

Erin McGowan is an interdisciplinary student earning her Bachelor of Technology in Industrial Operations Management. She interned at Alyeska Pipeline Service Company over the summer of 2013.

I applied for an internship at Alyeska because I like that they are an Alaska company. The work they do matters a great deal to our state and I wanted to be part of that. Alyeska is a great company because every employee, whether they are an accountant in Anchorage, a warehouseman in Fairbanks, or a technician at a pump station, knows that they contribute to making Alaska a great place to live and work.



Something I learned while working at Alyeska is the importance of a company’s culture to the success and well-being of the organization. Alyeska puts a strong emphasis on their core cultural attributes and as an intern I felt that I blended well with that culture. As a former operator I was already familiar with the importance of a strong safety culture, but Alyeska really takes that a step further and it’s visible in the quality of work they do every day.

I think the most important thing anyone considering an internship should know is that you are responsible for what you get out of an internship. If you don’t step up and ask questions and ask to be part of projects, your summer will fly by and you’ll be wishing you had taken more initiative.

I was really happy with the variety of tasks I was able to assist with and what a broad view of the Fairbanks operations I was able to see. I worked with several groups within supply chain management in Fairbanks, and I even had an opportunity to see a pump station and go out on the line with one of the engineers. The best part of my internship was being asked to stay on with Alyeska for the rest of the year; I’m excited that I can help support ongoing projects and continue learning more about business operations in Alaskan industry.