Vern Draper's idea of a good vacation is spending time on the blizzard-battered Aleutian Islands in December. Despite threats of bitter weather, Draper and Ball State University co-worker Dave Powell will depart for the Alaskan island chain Dec. 4.
Actually, the computer technicians are taking a busman's holiday, spending their vacation days scaling icy rooftops hooking up satellite dishes that will provide Internet service, installing computers and performing routine maintenance for native Aleut schools on the islands of Adak, Atka and Nikolski.
The schools have little money and few students. Two years ago, one of the schools nearly lost state funding because it barely met the minimum enrollment requirement of 10 students. Draper and Powell volunteer their time, citing that helping the students connect to the world is pay enough.
Although their arrival date is certain, their departure date is unknown.
"Our whole itinerary is dependent upon weather windows," said Draper. "If the weather is agreeable, we can hop to each island and be home in 10 days. If not, we could be there three weeks."
This year marks Draper's second trip to the Aleutians. During his first visit, he nearly didn't make it home for Christmas. Thanks to Joe Beckford, Aleutian Region Schools' chief school administrator, and a wily bush pilot, Draper was able to enjoy the holidays at home with his family even though the weather window was nearly closed, he said.
As they learned from their last trip, Draper and Powell will have to acquire a taste for caribou -- for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Standing at 6'2", Draper will also have to get used to being one of the tallest people the islanders have ever seen.
"When I walked into a school last year, two second-graders walked up to me," Draper said. "The first one hit his friend and said, 'See, I told you he wasn't a giant.'"
The relationship between Ball State and the Aleuts began nine years ago when Jay Thompson, Ball State professor of curriculum, first visited there. Thompson has made nearly 50 trips to help oversee and establish the schools' curriculums.
Both Thompson and his wife, Valerie, have also arranged book donations for the schools. They have donated 3,000 books themselves over the years, said Thompson, who accompanied Draper on last year's trip. This year, they helped a school in the Indianapolis area collect more than 5,000 books.
"We got involved because we believe in the policy that no child should be left behind," Thompson said. "But it is getting tougher to accomplish, especially in remote schools such as those in the Aleutians."
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