The U.S. Department of the Interior has partnered with the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) to give Alaska’s college students employment options in STEM disciplines.
Current students and recent graduates will have opportunities for placement in governmental bureaus and offices which will streamline the process for internships, according to a July 13 news release.
“This new partnership exemplifies the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to removing barriers and advancing equity across the federal government,” Secretary Deb Haaland said in the release. “We must continue to mobilize an all-of-government approach to ensure that historically underrepresented communities are brought into federal service.”
The agreement notes the interns are employees of the University of Alaska, unless they are hired on by the DOI directly. The agreement also lays out the responsibilities of each party.
ANSEP students and graduates have been part of placements in the U.S. National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, the release reported. Cooperative agreements are in place with several other bureaus including the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, as well as the U.S. Geological Survey.
The ANSEP program began in 1995 as a scholarship program and has expanded into “a sequential education model that provides a contiguous string of components beginning with students in kindergarten and continuing through middle and high school, into science and engineering undergraduate and graduate degree programs through to the PhD,” according to its website. Thousands of Alaska native students at all levels are involved in the program which is supported by more than 100 companies, state and federal agencies and organizations.
The partnership with ANSEP is part of the Department of the Interior’s efforts to encourage equal opportunity and resources for all Americans, as part of its Equity in Action Plan, according to the agreement. That plan was presented in April 2022 and is a response to President Joe Biden’s executive order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government.
Haaland was sworn in as the first Native American cabinet secretary in March 2021, her biography reported. She served as a state representative for the people of New Mexico from 2019 until her appointment as secretary of the Interior.
