Ben – Bellstaff

My journey to Alaska actually began last summer. My parents went on a cruise with Princess and when they returned, they showed me pictures and told me all about it. My interest was piqued, and I was beginning to think about how I could get to visit Alaska. Well, then my parents told me that a lot of college age people will work there just for the summer. I thought that sounded perfect because I wasn’t interested in being there during the winter, and the summer would be long enough for me to get a good taste of Alaska.
I jumped online and started looking around for jobs in Alaska. My first choice was Princess because my parents had a good experience with them, and one of the job positions was luggage handler. That sounded like something I would enjoy, so I applied in August of 2007.
I hoped to hear back by January or February, but I never heard back. I figured it wasn’t going to work out and I forgot about it. Early April I was considering moving out to Seattle after I graduated, when I got a call one afternoon from a lady in Alaska. It took me a minute to figure out why someone was calling me from Alaska. Well, I got a call back the next day for a phone interview. I thought it went pretty well but I couldn’t tell for sure. Then I got another call a couple days later with an official offer for the job.
It was a pretty big decision to make since everything at school was really busy up until graduation and then I only had three days at home before I would have to leave for Alaska. I decided it was worth it. I had wanted to see Alaska and I thought getting paid to do it was a pretty good idea.
After that I was really excited about the job and getting to go to Alaska. I would often ask people what they were planning to do for the summer in hopes that they would ask me the same question in return…because I loved saying that I was going to be working in Alaska for the summer!
The first week here-training overload-made it tough for me to discern quite yet if I would like it here and I was concerned about whether or not I’d get a good roommate. Well, Garrett is about the most easy-going and down to earth person and we get along just fine. So that worked out well.
After the first week of the lodge opening, I loved it. In several of my classes, I was told, “If you find something you like to do, you’ll never work another day in your life.” So far I agree. I consider this a four month paid vacation. This job is fun to me, and going to work is not something I dread.
The thing I love most is being able to interact with the guests. It’s great to hear where people are coming from, where they are going, what they do, etc.
So after one full month of being here, I’m still loving my job, I’m loving the absolutely huge state of Alaska, and all of the fun things that it has to offer, I’m loving the perks of getting to go on tours, and I’m enjoying the people that I get to work with. What more could I ask for?