Virtual Mixer Yields Summer Internships

May 4, 2020

The Alaska Center ICE team is firing up the annual Students2Startups internship program.

 While S2S is always a remarkable program that benefits local startup companies as well as UA students, it is particularly crucial now. This importance has been reflected in the level of interest in our 2020 program.

 Last weekend, S2S held a virtual mixer for students to meet with company representatives. The number of students and startups participating both more than doubled from last year. S2S is uniquely situated to assist the community by helping UA students connect with paying jobs during a summer when opportunities are likely to be lacking, and by providing local startups with much-needed labor and assistance so they can weather the current storm. 

 The Students2Startups program will continue through the summer. Center ICE looks forward to tracking the progress of both the interns and startups involved as they master the tools and techniques to continue working in this new reality we are facing.

Prospective intern Hannah Mason said “I was nervous about the prospect of unemployment, but with Students2Startups I am able to ensure my own financial security while also providing much-needed assistance to a local business ... I’m very excited for the opportunity CenterICE has provided.”

While CenterICE is proud of the hard work our team members have done to help facilitate these connections, we are humbly reminded that the hardest work is, and will continue to be, done by Alaskan startups, local businesses and nonprofits. We are honored to be able to assist them. Through uncertain times, the leaders of S2S-affiliated companies, as well as thousands of others around the state, have chosen to press on, innovating and developing as rapidly as they ever have, because of an acute recognition that sometimes the only way out of the storm is through it.

This process takes willpower and dedication. In admiration of that spirit, we implore everyone to consider the many individuals and organizations for whom this time has created nearly insurmountable obstacles, and contemplate ways in which you may be able to help. Donations to Alaskan nonprofits can be made through Pick.Click.Give.