By WILLIAM BENAC
The riches of Alaska are accessible to students by one of three ways: being rich, being rugged, or having connections. Alaskans swear it is worth the trip.
'It's the old candy philosophy. When you find a really good piece of candy you want to share it with everybody. It's like that with Alaska; you want to bring everybody you can,' said junior Keith Johnson, a statistics major from Anchorage, Alaska.
Alaska is spectacular for many reasons.
The largest state in the Union, it boasts mountains and glaciers that are found in none of the others. The wildlife is also beyond compare. Its fishing is world-famous.
Winter's night dazzles northerners with the aurora borealis. Jobs pay somewhere between a little and a lot more than they would in the lower 48.
But how does one get up there? Not connected to the other states, going to Alaska might as well be going to another county.
If you do not want to spend any time thinking, spend money. Tourist traps such as Glacier Bay are waiting for those rich enough to pay a cruise company to put together a vacation package where the only worry is what to wear to dinner.
If you do not want to spend thousands, think. The more adventurous can travel in Alaska on a shoe-string budget by becoming intimate with the state. You can travel bare bones like many Europeans do, or find a job and friends to bring you through.
Amber Combs, a speech pathology senior from Anchorage, worked with a tourist agency where most of the clients were older Americans or Japanese.
She said, however, that quite often when she goes camping or to a glacier she sees Europeans camping by themselves, which is done at a very low budget.
Johnson said, 'I ran into a boy and girl from Arizona this summer that just flew up, wanting to be in Alaska to camp and fish and hike. They came up with a backpack and a little bit of money for food and they just took off for two months. They hiked everywhere they went and loved it.'
But, said Johnson, 'the best way to tour Alaska is to know somebody and go with them somewhere. They can give you twice as much scenery and wildlife for no price.'
Paul Newman, a computer science major from Anchorage, said, 'Most people who read this article aren't going to know someone from Alaska, but we're saying come up and we'll do stuff with you. That's the attitude.'
Newman lived in several other states before his family moved to Anchorage. Most people in Anchorage moved there from elsewhere, so they are open to visitors, he said.
Connections are worth seeking out for those interested in Alaska, whether you plan to spend only a little money traveling or make a lot of money working.
'There are a lot of students that go up to work for tour companies for the season and for fishing boats. I worked up there on the Princess Tours train. On a crew of 27 people, five of them came up from Provo,' said Newman.
'Most of the kids who work on the train know people. Other than that it's really hard to get a job,' said Combs. She said even Alaskans can have a hard time getting the high-paying jobs unless they have connections.
But it isn't just money. It's Alaska.
'You have ten times more enjoyment because you go home to the mountains, the ocean. That's where you work,' said Johnson.