I’m more of an e-audio absorber. I listen to a lot of Bott Radio as my spiritual component, as well as positive affirmations and LinkedIn Learnings.
What charity or cause are you passionate about?
Iḷisaġvik College Foundation… First Alaskans Institute.
What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?
Change to comfortable clothes.
What vacation spot is on your bucket list?
The Philippines.
If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?
Maybe a polar bear.
I’m more of an e-audio absorber. I listen to a lot of Bott Radio as my spiritual component, as well as positive affirmations and LinkedIn Learnings.
What charity or cause are you passionate about?
Iḷisaġvik College Foundation… First Alaskans Institute.
What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?
Change to comfortable clothes.
What vacation spot is on your bucket list?
The Philippines.
If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?
Maybe a polar bear.
Off the Cuff
er background seems far from where she is now, yet Justina Wilhelm fits right in.
She aimed for a career in healthcare and started working for the North Slope Borough, eventually becoming deputy director of behavioral health. Her administrative experience led to a job at Iḷisaġvik College, although she was concerned that she might not be helping as much. “But it’s definitely a different type of help, and it’s still rewarding,” she says.
Half Italian and half Filipino, Wilhelm was born in the San Francisco Bay Area. At age 8, her family moved to Barrow (as it was then called), where her grandmother was living. She went to Hawaii for college and thought she’d never return to Utqiaġvik, “but then I met my partner,” she recalls. As a whaling captain’s wife, or imiun, she’s in charge of shoreside affairs while the crew is at sea. “You can’t do it, one without another. You have to be a team,” she says.
While serving as college president, Wilhelm was elected to the Utqiaġvik City Council. “This is my home,” she says, “and I probably know more Iñupiaq than I know my own two cultures.”
Justina Wilhelm: Family time and subsistence. Put those two together and there’s a lot of hard work, depending on what season it is.
AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn?
Wilhelm: Professionally, working on my public speaking.
AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
Wilhelm: I did jump on the blanket [at last summer’s Nalukataq festival]… My husband and son kept saying, “You’re not doing it! We’re not letting you do it!”… It’s been over twenty-five years since I’ve jumped on the blanket.
AB: What are you superstitious about?
Wilhelm: I’m not much of a believer with superstitions.
AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?
Wilhelm: East Coast Pizza [in Utqiaġvik]… In Anchorage, we like Kumagoro.
AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live in concert?
Wilhelm: Living: hands down John Legend. Dead: Johnny Cash.
AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?
Wilhelm: Ivory jewelry [she laughs]. Bracelets, earrings, necklaces, barrettes. I would take ivory over gold any day.
AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute?
Wilhelm: I do well with listening, communicating, and sharing; I believe there’s no such thing as over-sharing or being open… The negative: work-life balance and making sure I’m not working too much.
