Alaska Railroad recruits Anchorage high schoolers to train as tour guides

The Alaska Railroad is looking for Anchorage high school juniors and seniors who want to learn to be tour guides, with a chance at a summer job on the railroad.

The spring class at King Tech High School trains students to narrate for railroad passengers and to handle customer service. Students who finish can apply to work as railroad tour guides next summer. Applications are due Dec. 3.

Along the way, students take all-day field trips to Talkeetna, Seward and the railroad's Hurricane Train, according to King Tech's program page. The class ends with graduation at the Anchorage depot in April.

The program began more than four decades ago. By 2013, the railroad had hired more than 500 students from it, and hundreds of former guides had moved into bigger roles at the railroad or other tourism businesses, the railroad said in a 2013 release.

Students also study public speaking, cross-cultural communication, CPR and first aid, and Alaska's geography, economy and history. The class meets Monday through Thursday from 4 to 5:30 pm, Jan. 11 through April 8, and earns half a credit in Alaska Studies or an elective.

Applicants must be Anchorage School District juniors or seniors, at least 16, with a GPA of 2.5 or higher, according to the railroad. Students are picked based on an application, a resume, a counselor's recommendation and an interview, with interviews Dec. 7 to 10. Applications are on the King Tech page and go to [email protected].

"Summer employment with the Alaska Railroad may be available for those who successfully complete the course," the railroad's flyer said. Guides who are hired are expected to work full time all summer, between the end of one school year and the start of the next.

Families can learn more at an open house from 7 to 8 pm Wednesday at the Anchorage Depot.