PWSC - Prince William Sound College

PWSC - Prince William Sound College PWSC is a community campus of the University of Alaska Anchorage. PWSC is a one-of-a-kind institution of higher education located in Valdez, Alaska.

Prince William Sound College (PWSC) is a two-year accredited college in Valdez, Alaska, where learning goes beyond four walls into Alaska's stunning environment. The main campus, together with two extension sites in Glennallen and Cordova, are set amidst some of the country’s most breathtaking scenery and rich cultural history. PWSC is a part of the University of Alaska Anchorage. PWSC offers associate degrees and occupational certificates. PWSC Valdez campus Land Acknowledgement:
"The Prince William Sound College main campus in Valdez respectfully acknowledges that we live, work, learn, and operate on the traditional, ancestral lands of the Chugach Alutiiq/Sugpiaq people. These lands have been stewarded for thousands of years since time immemorial by the Chugach Sugpiaq and Ahtna people. The traditional name of this area in Sugt’stun, the language of the Sugpiaq, is Suacit, which means, “the people of the place that rises into view.” Suacit and the surrounding Prince William Sound villages provided a bountiful harvest for the Sugpiat, Ahtna, and Eyak people. Suacit played an integral role as an overland trade route that linked Interior Alaska to Prince William Sound. PWSC acknowledges the painful history of colonization and the resilience of the Chugach Sugpiaq who still live here today. Valdez is a unique community in that the Valdez Native Tribe serves all local Indigenous residents and is not specific to the Sugpiaq people. PWSC acknowledges the ancient and current Indigenous stewards of this land who reside here today. This land acknowledgment is important to the PWSC campus because too often Indigenous history is washed away, and we strive to include both the ancestral and the contemporary history of the Indigenous people in our region. Quyanaasinaq
Tsin'aen
AwA’ahdah
Thank you very much."

Yesterday, PWSC Outdoor Leadership students Kelsi, Hadley, Ian, and Jack took part in Kids Don’t Float training with Iri...
10/02/2026

Yesterday, PWSC Outdoor Leadership students Kelsi, Hadley, Ian, and Jack took part in Kids Don’t Float training with Iris Nawiesniak and Joy Lomelino.

Today, they helped bring that lesson into the classroom.

First, the group visited with Focus Homeschool students. Later, they headed to Gilson Middle School, where they helped teach fifth graders about water safety and what to do if they end up in Alaska’s cold water.

Iris led most of the teaching, while our students helped demonstrate what they learned, including talking about the different life jackets they tried on during training.

And then things got a little more fun.

The fifth graders and our PWSC students put on a life-jacket fashion show, modeling the different jackets and talking about proper fit and why choosing the right life jacket matters.

They also watched a video about the Udelhoven sisters and the boating tragedy that claimed the lives of their father and a family friend. The sisters survived, and their story helped show the fifth graders why knowing what to do in cold water and wearing a properly fitted life jacket can make such a difference.

That lesson is especially important in Alaska, where drowning is a serious water-safety concern. Kids Don’t Float provides water-safety education to help Alaska children and families understand cold-water risks and the importance of wearing a life jacket.

Students learned about the three stages of cold-water immersion: cold shock, cold incapacitation, and immersion hypothermia, and what to do if they unexpectedly end up in the water.

They also learned some important Alaska boating laws. Everyone on a boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket readily available. Children under 13 must wear a life jacket when they are in an open boat, on an open deck, or being towed. And that life jacket needs to be the right size and fit for the person wearing it.

Yesterday they learned about water safety. Today they were helping teach it. And in the near future, they’ll be teaching the program themselves.

And yes, the life-jacket fashion show was definitely a highlight.

10/01/2026

The Art of Leadership: Lessons from the American Presidency with Jon Meacham

The University of Alaska Anchorage College of Arts & Sciences Community Lecture Series will present Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and bestselling author Jon Meacham on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at 7 p.m. The presentation will be held online from Prince William Sound College in Room 165.

In The Art of Leadership: Lessons from the American Presidency, Meacham explores what leaders across a range of fields can learn from some of the greatest moments of America’s shared past.

This nonpartisan presentation draws on the leadership of presidents including Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. Meacham examines Jefferson’s pragmatism, Kennedy’s ability to recover from his own mistakes, the management of conflicting egos demonstrated by Reagan and Roosevelt, and how George H.W. Bush navigated the end of his presidency.

Meacham shows how history can inform the decisions we make every day, especially in roles that demand creative, innovative solutions.

Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian, bestselling author, and one of America’s most respected public intellectuals. He is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope, American Gospel, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, and American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

Meacham frequently appears on MSNBC, CNN, and other national news outlets, where he brings historical perspective to political, cultural, and civic issues. He also created and narrated the History Channel podcasts Hope Through History and It Was Said, and has appeared in Ken Burns’ The Roosevelts: An Intimate History.

The Art of Leadership: Lessons from the American Presidency with Jon Meacham
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
7 p.m.
Online from PWSC, Room 165

Big shout-out to the Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum for its biggest year ever! The Whitney welcomed 12,855 visitors this ...
10/01/2026

Big shout-out to the Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum for its biggest year ever!

The Whitney welcomed 12,855 visitors this year, beating last year’s record of 11,923.

One interesting trend: the biggest increase came from RVers and local Alaskans, with local visitors nearly doubling. Cruise passenger numbers stayed about the same.

A lot of people came through the doors this year, and we’re pretty happy to see it. What a great year for the Whitney!

On the last cruise ship day in Valdez, I did a short interview with Todd Arnold while he visited the Maxine & Jesse Whit...
09/30/2026

On the last cruise ship day in Valdez, I did a short interview with Todd Arnold while he visited the Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum with his wife.

Todd is from just outside Vancouver, B.C., Canada, and this is his second trip to Alaska. They’re visiting Sitka, Valdez, Seward, Homer and Kodiak before heading on to Tokyo.

I asked Todd what he thought of the Maxine and Jesse Whitney Museum, and he said he was “way more impressed than I thought I would be.”

He especially liked the taxidermy, ivory carving, and getting a sense of the animals' scale. He also enjoyed hearing the stories behind the collections and the people who came to Alaska and built a life here.

Todd said after visiting these Alaska communities, he was already thinking about where he’d like to come back and spend more time.

“It would probably also be nice to come when it’s not necessarily cruise season.”

I get that.

I love these conversations with visitors and hearing what stands out to them about Valdez. It’s always interesting to see our town through someone else’s eyes.

Wishing Todd and his wife safe and happy travels through the rest of Alaska and on to Tokyo!

Our Introduction to Forestry class had a great field trip, with stops at the Alaska Division of Forestry and Wrangell-St...
09/30/2026

Our Introduction to Forestry class had a great field trip, with stops at the Alaska Division of Forestry and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

We started with the Division of Forestry, where Jenny Moser, Dub Evans, and Joseph Morse spent time with our students talking about the work they do throughout the Copper River Basin.

Students got a look at what it takes to work in forestry and wildland fire, including the work that goes into preventing and responding to wildfires and managing Alaska's forests and natural resources. The Division of Forestry also works in forest health, forest management, community forestry and conservation education, along with its wildfire response work.

From there, we headed to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, where we met with Kelly Kitka, Diane Ellsworth, Chelsea Hernandez and Hope Courtney.

The students learned more about the park, its enormous size and the different landscapes and forest communities found here. At 13.2 million acres, Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest national park in the United States.

They also learned about Alaska's boreal forest and black spruce. Cold temperatures, permafrost, and fire shape boreal forests, and black spruce is especially well adapted to those conditions. Its shallow roots let it grow in areas with less than 18 inches of ground above permafrost, and fire plays an important role in how these forests change over time.

And, of course, we got out and hiked.

It's one thing to talk about forests, fire, natural resources, and land management in a classroom. It's another thing to stand in the middle of the landscape and see it for yourself.

Thank you to Jenny, Dub, and Joseph with the Division of Forestry, and Kelly, Diane, Chelsea, and Hope with Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve for welcoming our students, sharing your knowledge, and giving them a chance to learn from the people doing this work here in Alaska.

An all-around great field trip and a great day of learning outside the classroom.

I stopped by our Marine Service Technology class last night, and wow. What a great new location and shop for this progra...
09/29/2026

I stopped by our Marine Service Technology class last night, and wow. What a great new location and shop for this program.

The space is huge, and there is so much room for students to work, learn and get their hands on things.

Most of the students were taking a test with their instructor, Anthony Gerasch, but one student was working on a separate project. Of course, I had to ask what he was working on. We ended up doing an interview, and that will be coming soon.

I’m going back again later this week to see what the students are working on, and I’m looking forward to spending a little more time in the shop.

This is what I love about getting out and seeing what our students are actually doing. You get a glimpse of the work happening behind the scenes, and there is always something interesting going on.

Exciting things are happening on campus and with our students. I can’t wait to go back.

Hot off the press!PWSC just wrapped up its first Packraft Instructor Course, and all five candidates passed with flyin...
09/28/2026

Hot off the press!

PWSC just wrapped up its first Packraft Instructor Course, and all five candidates passed with flying colors!

Jule Harle, founder, owner, and primary instructor at Alaska Packraft School, led the course with Pete Biskind, also part of the Alaska Packraft School staff.

Congratulations to our new instructors: Lydia Hentzen, Frank Olive, Paul Nylund, Rafael Alfaro, and Kaden Addler!

Look out for new packraft courses coming to the community from these newly certified instructors. We’re excited to see them take what they learned and pass those skills on to the next generation of Alaskan packrafters.

Tonight, PWSC graduate Hayden Packer returned to Spencer Heston’s Millwright class, this time as an alumnus, to share wh...
09/27/2026

Tonight, PWSC graduate Hayden Packer returned to Spencer Heston’s Millwright class, this time as an alumnus, to share what he has learned since graduating and stepping into the industry.

Hayden graduated from PWSC in May 2026 with an Occupational Endorsement Certificate in Millwright. Just a few months later, he began a five-month internship with Hilcorp Alaska.

He worked a two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off schedule at a North Slope facility, with 12-hour workdays. His first day on the job was a little different from a traditional training experience.

“I walked into the facility and they’re doing a major overhaul,” Hayden said. “So they’re tearing apart this huge turbine, and I was kind of just thrown into it.”

At first, Hayden grabbed tools for the mechanics and learned where everything was. He was then paired with a mechanic mentor who showed him the equipment, maintenance processes and why the work mattered.

As the internship progressed, Hayden became more familiar with the equipment and began taking on more work himself while still being supervised as an intern.

“It was a wealth of knowledge,” he said.

The internship also gave Hayden the opportunity to show the crew what he could do. He got to know members of the overhaul team, demonstrated his work ethic and mechanical knowledge, and eventually learned there was a job opening.

He applied, met with the foreman and a few days later was offered the position.

Hayden will now work for CCI as a subcontractor supporting Hilcorp as a GMT with the overhaul crew. The crew travels to Hilcorp facilities for major mechanical projects, including tearing down and rebuilding turbines, working on compressor bundles, rebuilding pumps, motors and couplings, and other mechanical maintenance work.

For Hayden, the work builds directly on the skills he learned at PWSC and his previous mechanical experience in the U.S. Coast Guard.

“Everything Spencer taught us is coming in handy very, very often,” Hayden said.

And tonight, he got the chance to share that experience with students sitting in the same classroom where he once learned those skills.

For current students, having a graduate come back and talk about what happened after graduation makes the connection between the classroom and industry pretty real.

Hayden is now building his career in the field while also balancing life at home with his wife, Sydney, and their eight-month-old daughter, Halloway.

“Every time I come home, she’s doing something new,” he said. Halloway is now crawling, almost walking and recently took her first step.

From the U.S. Coast Guard, to PWSC, to an industry internship and now into a millwright career, Hayden is putting his training to work.

And tonight, he came back to share what he has learned along the way.

I got to do a little impromptu interviewing today, which is one of my favorite ways to find out what is actually happeni...
09/26/2026

I got to do a little impromptu interviewing today, which is one of my favorite ways to find out what is actually happening around campus.

This weekend, Alaska Packraft School is teaching an ACA Packraft Instructor Training here at PWSC. Several of our Outdoor Leadership adjunct instructors are taking the course, so I wanted to find out more about what they were learning and who was teaching them.

I sat down with Jule Harle, founder, owner, and primary instructor at Alaska Packraft School, and Pete Biskind, who is also part of the Alaska Packraft School staff.

Jule is passionate about mountains and using packrafts for wilderness exploration and whitewater access. She is an ACA-certified Whitewater Packraft, Kayak, and swiftwater rescue instructor. She also wrote and published The Alaska Packraft Guidebook: Premier Rivers & Creeks in the 49th State, the first packraft-specific whitewater guidebook highlighting 70 Alaska runs ranging from Class I–IV.

She’s also involved in developing river sports and supporting the paddling community through her work with the American Canoe Association and the American Packrafting Association.

Pete started guiding whitewater in 2001 to support what he calls his kayaking addiction. He has guided across 10 states and three continents before moving to Alaska in 2017. He is a whitewater guide, swiftwater instructor, heli-ski guide and avalanche forecaster, so sitting still was never really part of the plan.

Pete has also called Valdez home for more than 10 years.

Between Jule and Pete, a whole lot of experience is packed into one weekend of instructor training.

One thing that really stood out to me is how much Jule and Pete love teaching river skills, especially passing the torch and helping train the next generation of Alaskan packraft instructors. That kind of knowledge-sharing matters. It keeps skills, experience, and a love for Alaska’s rivers moving forward.

I love getting glimpses into what our instructors are doing outside the classroom, and then seeing those experiences come back into the classroom with our students.

A lot more is happening around PWSC than you see on a schedule.

09/25/2026

Boat Hull Donation Needed – Support PWSC's Marine Service Technology Program!

Prince William Sound College is looking for a donated boat hull to help us build a hands-on marine systems training platform for students in Valdez.

We're developing a trainer that will allow students to practice installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting marine plumbing, electrical, steering, and outboard rigging systems using the actual stern of a boat.

What we're looking for:

* A 16–22-foot boat designed for an outboard motor, with a usable stern, transom, and cockpit.
* The boat does not need to run, and an engine is not required.
* Older or damaged boats that are no longer economical to repair are welcome, provided the portion we need is structurally sound.

We'll use the rear 6–8 feet of the boat to create a permanent training station in our shop, giving students the opportunity to develop practical skills on real marine systems.

If you have a boat that might be suitable, or know someone who does, we'd love to hear from you!

Donation Requirements: For the safety of our students and faculty, PWSC cannot accept vessels with known lead-based paint, asbestos, hazardous antifouling coatings, or other hazardous contamination. All fuel, oil, batteries, sewage, and other fluids must be removed prior to donation. Vessels must be free of significant mold and rot. All donations are subject to inspection and approval by PWSC before acceptance.

Thank you for helping us prepare the next generation of Alaska's marine technicians!

For more information:

Email: Tim Rock at [email protected]

Call: 907-834-1600 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. AKST)

Address

303 Lowe Street
Valdez, AK
99686

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+19078341600

Website

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