Miriam Trujillo, originally from Valparaiso, Indiana, and Sean Milligan, from Springfield, Virginia, are this year’s first volunteer fellows to arrive in Nome.

Sean says he learned about the KNOM volunteer fellowship program in 2018, from an ad for the program in his local diocesan newspaper. As KNOM’s volunteer fellowship required a bachelor’s degree, he changed his course of study from a two-year associate’s degree to a four-year degree.

“To me, KNOM seems like the perfect opportunity to do work I love, grounded in my faith, with like-minded people, in service to a community, in an exciting location. I hope, above all, to learn during his time in Nome: about broadcasting, about my faith, about Western Alaskan history and culture, and about myself,” Sean says.

Miriam attended the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where she studied music, philosophy, and classic ancient literature.

“My hope always was to go into media. I want to convey the beauty that I found in my studies to listeners and to readers. Media, radio in particular, was so attractive to me because it is such a natural way to accompany a listener and remind them of the beauty of ordinary life with a good song or story,” Miriam says.

She says for a long time, she has longed to live in Alaska, with its northern lights and cold winters.

“I can’t think of any better place to find beauty than in Western Alaska! Discovering KNOM, a radio station with a similar mission to mine, that was situated in Western Alaska Alaska, was like a dream come true.”

This summer, Sean and Miriam are learning how to host radio shows and report on local news at KNOM. The two look forward to a year of service and personal growth.

Image at top: New volunteer fellows, Sean Milligan and Miriam Trujillo, getting a tour of Nome on a foggy western Alaskan summer day.