Summer of Heroes

Meet the 2020 Hero Honorees

In 2020, Alaska Communications received dozens of nominations for outstanding youth that are making a difference in their local communities. A committee had the difficult task of narrowing that down to five heroes from the community at large and one hero from the Alaska Communications’ Employee Program. Each winner received a $1,500 scholarship and recognition in his or her community.

The 2020 youth heroes are Rosalie Cortes of Anchorage, Asya Gipson of Eagle River, Joy Martin of Anchorage, Trevor Morgan of Aniak, Zoe Nelles of Palmer and Ted (Emily) Tedrick of Anchorage.

What defines a hero? Help Find Heroes

The Summer of Heroes nomination window is closed.

The next nomination window for the Summer of Heroes program will be in Spring 2021.

A hero can be any Alaska resident between the ages of 6 and 18 who is making a positive difference in his or her community. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following types of efforts:

• volunteering or raising funds for a cause,
• making a difference in school through education or sports,
• making a significant contribution to his or her community,
• considering others’ needs before their own, or
• inspiring others to take action.

Whether it’s to support others during the pandemic or an ongoing effort to support the community, we want to hear about young people who have made their Alaska community better.

What are the nomination criteria?

Any youth who meet the above criteria can self-nominate or be nominated by someone they know. This could be a parent, guardian, sibling, teacher, coach, mentor, friend or anyone who has a relationship with the child and believes he or she should be recognized as a local hero.

Official Rules (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)

How and when will the heroes be recognized?

Alaska Communications and Boys & Girls Clubs - Alaska will select five outstanding youth heroes based on their nomination forms and short answer questions. A sixth hero will be selected as part of the Alaska Communications Employee program. The heroes will receive:

• a $1,500 scholarship through Alaska 529, and
• special recognition in his or her local community

The Alaska 529 Education Savings Plan scholarship can be used at nearly any accredited college, university, trade or technical post-secondary institution in the country.

Youth Recognition Program

Studies show that youth who are engaged in community service tend to do better in school, avoid risky behaviors, and maintain positive relationships with adults and peers.

As part of the Summer of Heroes, Alaska Communications works with Boys & Girls Clubs – Alaska to recognize five outstanding young heroes, plus one hero from the Employee Program, who are making a difference in their local communities. Based on their nomination forms and short answer responses, selected heroes receive a $1,500 scholarship and special recognition in their local community.

The Story of Our 2020 Logo

The 10th anniversary of this program is commemorated in this year’s logo. The design was inspired with the overall feel of the Summer of Heroes program in mind - helping each other and working together to achieve success. Additionally, in reference to Alaska, the graphic design team purposely created a lighter tone sunset to reflect our long summer days.