This is a Place Where You Grow if You Want To

Written by: Sean H.

The day I decided to apply to Leader Creek was a pivotal moment in my life. The application was on my browser for 2 weeks until I submitted it. It took overcoming unconscious bias and some fear based excuses. Then ultimately putting my foot down about what I wanted out of life and choosing to commit and commit fully. You’ll find when you arrive at Leader Creek that whatever you expect it might be, it wont. It will be better. I told myself to go into it with zero expectations. This wasn’t so that if I was disappointed then I could better manage it. It was so I could be better equipped to receive all that I could out of my time there. It wasn’t just a job. For me, it was a self-awakening.

My experience with Leader Creek is a personal one involving sobriety. One that has taken a week and writing 3 rough draft “novels” in effort of figuring out how to explain. Your experience won't be the same as mine. It will be completely unique to you as an individual and what you decide to take away from your time working in the plant. Some come back year after year, some don’t. It’s a job, but for me it was an adventure and a testimony of who I am. I will always hold the memories and experiences at LCF close to my heart because it is what has changed my life. It was the people everyday inspiring me to be better and the encouragement to keep going. You will find LCF  is an all inclusive and diverse work atmosphere. 

This is a place where you grow if you want to, and if you do it will be substantial. I think the job itself is a metaphor to what many say living in Alaska is like. It’s tough, grueling, and breathtakingly beautiful. Everyday I was made new, but not without feeling like I aged a year each time. I would think about quitting and then I’d think about the awesome people around me slayin’ salmon. I refer to the Navy Seals when I think about ways you can overcome your body when you overcome your mind. 

At the end of my first season with LCF I didn’t feel like I had survived it. I felt like I was victorious over it. A conqueror. I had succeeded in my job, fulfilled my contract with this amazing company and to myself proved I was a woman of my word.  I became platonically intimate with so many people and I had never known my heart to be able to have so much compassion. I discovered a limit I thought impossible for my body to reach. I gained self-confidence that even if it was found in a workplace has transcended into all aspects of my personal life. The world no longer scares me, it just became a bigger playground. I learned much about humanity and how different, yet alike we all are.  I thought I had known this, but then I experienced it. When mass amounts of people come together with similar goals, experiencing a similar reality, it births a comradery that racism, sexism, age gaps and all other bias can’t impede on. 

Leader Creek loves their people, that’s us, and that’s You! You’ll find that anyone higher up has done exactly what you’ll be doing and for much longer. There could be moments where you find yourself regarding something as a big deal when it’s not. Just as you might also think nothing of something when it is most definitely something. LCF knows the job forward and backwards, they’ve been doing this for 20 years. There’s no expectation of you to hit it hard right off the bat. Even the most monotonous job position is revered. There’s no class of separation between departments. Everyone’s role is not only valuable but necessary to the functions of the plant. Be proud of your work, but don’t get cocky because we’re all in this.

“I would think about quitting and then I’d think about the awesome people around me slayin’ salmon. ”

 There is one solid expectation that goes for everyone on camp. It is to be a person of your word. There will be a contract you sign and therein are certain requirements. If you intend to come, come with the intention of seeing the job through till the end and you will also see a new you. If you’re committing to something, then commit, and I can promise- When you see your name on the list for flights out after peak [season] or when the last fish goes through the plant. That paycheck we’re all coming up here for.. Oh, it will be just the cherry to the hot fudge double scoop banana sundae with the nuts sprinkled on top of an experience you’ll have. I say that, but can’t guarantee it. You decide the experience you want to have by the measure in which you apply yourself and take heart to the magic that goes on at Leader Creek.   

Without saying 2020 was notably an epochal year for all mankind, but here I am.. Pointing out the obvious. It’s to establish that contrast of what was my experience with LCF during a national pandemic. In the midst of it, even with the nasal swabs, I felt like it was my best season. Looking back it’s hard to pick favorites because each experience has been unique and deeply personal. I have gained more admiration for the people and company in a whole that is the one and only, Leader Creek Fisheries. You should love your job and if you’re not working for yourself, you should be able to stand for the establishment that has hired you as if you’re a part of it. At LCF, you are definitely a part of it. 

We can all agree that this year came with no guidebook or blog posts to give us an idea of what to expect. It was a new thing for everyone and LCF took the outlines they were given and did their absolute best. Many things were different this year, but they had to be this way to ensure safety for everyone. It was a struggle for everyone too, I struggled in my own ways to get with the program, and because of this I am grateful for the strength many had to implement discipline so that we stayed safe, stayed aware, and informed so to follow protocol seriously. When the pandemic hit my first thought was, “How is this going to affect Leader Creek.” It’s a job I and many others revolve everything else around. 

A company that takes care of their people like LCF does is hard to find. A company with a culture like this is rare to find too. I can say confidently that this job isn’t for the faint of heart. Take it from me, one who was and can still be at times, that even if you are. You can do anything you put your mind to. I can’t promise what your experience will be, but I know the potential we have in ourselves. It’s my hope for everyone to love their job and enjoy their work. To be proud of themselves, and proud of their company.. May 2021 be your best season yet!