Matt Aaryuk Enoch, Empowering Our Shareholders
快播app Intern Contributes to Yup’ik Atlas as Yugtun Linguist
Storyknife, September/October 2024 edition
Matt Aaryuk Enoch, 快播app intern and scholarship recipient
Matt Aaryuk Enoch of Nunapitchuk, a 快播app Shareholder, interned to help preserve our Region鈥檚 cultural knowledge this summer and wants to become a teacher in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Region.
While interning as a Translator/Transcriber with
(CECI), Enoch made over 1,000 updates to the nonprofit鈥檚 . If you visit the Yup鈥檌k Atlas online and hover over certain place names like Naparyaarmiut/Hooper Bay, you can hear Enoch speaking the place name in Yup鈥檌k.
Yup’ik Atlas Contributions
Enoch鈥檚 major project as a CECI translator/transcriber intern was working on the Yup鈥檌k Atlas.
Created in 2010, the Yup鈥檌k Atlas now includes more than 4,000 place names contributed by Elders throughout the Y-K Region, including names of old villages, rivers, lakes, mountains and ocean channels.
This summer Enoch uploaded the Yup鈥檌k pronunciation of place names into the atlas. He also transcribed tapes in English and Yup鈥檌k, translated spoken Yup鈥檌k tapes to English, and uploaded images to their appropriate place on the Yup鈥檌k Atlas.
鈥淚 enjoyed listening to tapes of Elders. It helped me learn about their values in their region,鈥� Enoch says.
Future Plans
Enoch plans to use his knowledge and expertise from his degree and prior internship experience to find full-time work in his field while pursuing a Master鈥檚 degree.
鈥淪ince my community helped me a lot, I want to give back to them by teaching the Yugtun language in the Y-K Region.鈥�
Since the beginning, Matt has been interested in the Yugtun language.
鈥淏eing able to teach Yugtun to other villages pushed me. That鈥檚 why I have been pursuing Yup鈥檌k and doing work related to Yugtun,鈥� Enoch says. 鈥淭hese internships have helped me gain more knowledge and understanding about the Yup鈥檌k language.鈥�
Enoch graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks this May with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Yup鈥檌k Language and a minor in Criminal Justice.
鈥淚鈥檓 the first generation in my family to graduate,鈥� Enoch says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 do it for myself, I did it for my community as well.鈥�
Enoch comes from a large family with six other siblings. His parents are Matthew and Mary Enoch, and his grandparents are John and Josephine Enoch on his father鈥檚 side, and Carl and Natalia White on his mother鈥檚 side. With his family, Enoch participates in subsistence activities including fishing and berry picking.
鈥淢y family is big on subsistence. We go together as a family so we can catch more fish and spend time with each other,鈥� he says. Enoch鈥檚 favorite berries to pick are salmonberries, then blackberries, and sometimes blueberries.
Enoch has travelled throughout Alaska following his passion for education. 鈥淲hen I reached high school, I wanted to challenge myself and decided to go to Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka,鈥� he says. 鈥淔rom there I went to college in Fairbanks.鈥�
Enoch has received CECI鈥檚 scholarship to help reach his degree at UAF. This is also his fifth year completing the internship program. He interned with CECI as a translator/transcriber in previous years, and with 快播app鈥檚 Yulista Holding line in Huntsville, Alabama as a project assistant.
The 2025 快播app Corporation Internship Program is officially OPEN for applications! If you’re ready to gain valuable professional experience, build your network, and make an impact in your community, this is your chance. We鈥檙e looking for talented individuals who are passionate about growing their careers and supporting Alaska Native values.