From classroom to arctic Alaska: An accounting adventure that changes lives

10 Days
10 Flights
160 Tax returns
4 Accounting students
1 Amazing learning opportunity. In February. In Alaska.

Before their trip, College of Business and Economics (CBE) accounting students Hannah Westergaard, Alexa Smith, Anna Bliss and Young Sim stuffed their travel bags with 40 pounds of supplies each. Sleeping bags, laptops and all the freeze-dried food they would need for ten days took priority. Multi-changes of clothes were a last luxury.

The four students were volunteering with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which offers tax preparation services to qualified individuals as part of an IRS program. At University of Idaho, student volunteers get certified, travel where they are needed and prepare tax returns around the United States — including Alaska.

“I’m not an adventurous person, so participating in a program like this, which is way outside my comfort zone, will really stick with me,” said Westergaard, an undergraduate in accounting.

CBE students have provided tax services in Alaska through the VITA program for decades. Participating students coordinate with Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), which provide business counseling and training to entrepreneurs, to establish local sites in rural Alaska towns where community members make appointments to have their taxes prepared.

“We know the taxpayer from our textbooks, but now they are sitting in front of you with their whole community behind them,” said Sim, a Master of Accountancy student.

Alongside their regular accounting courses, these CBE students participated in certification trainings through the IRS to become VITA-certified in Fall 2025.

“To get our actual certifications and then go out, apply what we’ve learned and see how it affects people is a big eye-opener,” said Bliss, a senior accounting student. “You’re not just learning and repeating information, you’re actually impacting people’s livelihoods. If they don’t get those refunds or credits, then what are they going to do? They depend on these.”

The group landed in Anchorage and then broke into two teams for further plane trips to rural communities — one trip included a co-passenger birthday cake for delivery as specialized cakes aren’t available in such hard-to-reach locations. Another flight was delayed just long enough to have the crew install the appropriate number of passenger seats.

Many of the remote villages they visited didn’t have road access or cell service. And the after-effects of Typhoon Halong in late 2025 left some areas without regular phone service either.

“After this trip, I started appreciating the very small things in my life,” said Sim.

The powerful connections among community members were apparent everywhere. Multiple generations gather for events — including tax services.

“Anyone coming in next for their tax prep knew the person sitting with us and the next person in line,” said Smith, an accounting student. “And not just them, their parents, their grandparents, nieces and nephews, the whole family.”

Community members fed students, sharing home-cooked traditions and specialties like Pilot bread, a flat, cracker bread popular throughout the Alaska territories. They also shared their cultural traditions. One village was preparing for their Potlatch — an Indigenous celebration of life and death where participants dress as the deceased and are celebrated by the families and community. The students were welcomed to the celebration.

On top of the education in taxes and local culture, the students learned about a new definition of cold.

“Winter months are so perpetually cold, locals don’t include the word ‘negative’ in front of the weather temperature. When they say ‘16,’ it is actually ‘negative 16,’” Smith said. “It’s just quicker that way. And when it’s this cold, no one has extra time to stand outside using extra words!”