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The ANSEP Acceleration Academy has wrapped up its first year in Nome. The state program launched locally last fall with 11 Nome-Beltz high school students.
Friends and family gathered May 5 for an end-of-year celebration, where Assistant Director Michael Deering handed out “Student Oscars” voted on by the class.
Awards included “Best Online and Zoom Presence” and “Most Likely to Pull an All-nighter and still ace it,” and “Most likely to have 47 different internet tabs open.”
Families also played a trivia game, with questions like who once got left behind after forgetting to sign up for a ride on “Big Bertha” — the bright orange, 15-passenger van that carried students between Nome-Beltz Middle High School and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Northwest Campus.
The ANSEP Acceleration Academy is part of the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, a statewide initiative that prepares students for college and careers in science, technology and other fields. The Nome Acceleration Academy is one of six ANSEP high school academies in Alaska and the newest site in the state.
“It was created with advocacy from the community,” Miller said. “From parents who wanted students to get exposure into college, college readiness, post secondary preparedness and more college rigor.”
In the spring, five of the 11 students were enrolled in enough university credits to be considered full time. Collectively, the group completed 252 University of Alaska credits in prerequisite and higher-level courses. The program is free to students but represents thousands of dollars in tuition.
Over the course of the year, three students earned driver’s licenses through ANSEP partners, eight were certified in mental health first aid, and three student films were featured at Nome’s Alappaa Film Festival.
On Fridays, students participated in enrichment activities, often going into the community for field research. Senior Alora Stasenko said one early activity involved testing algae blooms on Nome’s beaches.
“That's a huge topic in today's whole ocean acidity thing,” Stasenko said. “So it was really cool to learn about that and just see the, see all of the effects first hand and be able to touch it and its tangible.”
Stasenko said she enrolled in ANSEP to be academically challenged. She balanced college coursework with sports, including volleyball and basketball, earning her the student Oscar “master balancing act.”
“It was definitely built for me to still do the things I want to do,” she said. “A lot of my math was recorded, so I could watch and do lessons on my own time. There was a book if I needed help, and my teacher was really understanding.”
She had the most excused absences in the program while maintaining a near-perfect GPA. She said the program’s mix of in-person and online learning helped make that possible.
ANSEP awarded her an over $50 thousand dollars a year scholarship to attend UAA or UAF. But right now, she plans to go to Shoreline Community College in Washington, where she can keep playing volleyball at a competitive level.
Miller said the students were all learning to balance their own acts. They learned how to communicate with professors, study for college exams, and solve scheduling problems And, how not to get left behind by Big Bertha. She said the students needed support – in the beginning.
“But then, boy, into the semester, you just see students emailing by themselves, connecting with instructors by themselves, going to office hours by themselves, acing a test because they learned how to study in a different way,” Miller said “So much growth. And I think that is one of the most rewarding parts for me.”
Next year, ANSEP plans expand to 20 students and move their classroom from Nome-Beltz Middle High School to the UAF Northwest Campus.
Miller said the move will give students the chance to experience life on a college campus and have more access to college resources. And she said, Big Bertha will keep running.
At the end of the celebration, ANSEP Acceleration Academy’s two graduating seniors were awarded their orange ANSEP cords which they will wear at their formal graduation ceremony with Nome-Beltz at the end of the month.
ANSEP senior Sara James is one of Nome-Beltz’s co-valedictorians in the Class of 2026.
The fall application for ANSEP Acceleration Academy is open for Nome-Beltz high school students through June 6.
