- Carly Weck

Time of Your Life

       One seven hour plane ride, two friends, and 3,000 miles from family and home. While two students on the Alaska Great Lakes Project were walking through the town of Seward, Alaska they met Eric Hecox, a twenty-two year old man from their hometown, Marshall, Michigan.
       When Hecox lived in Marshall, he and his family decided to go visit Alaska. “When I was twelve my family and I chose to visit Alaska for a family vacation. I loved going fishing in Kodiak and I especially loved Alaska all around,” says Hecox. The following year Hecox was in eighth grade, which is when many Marshall students travel to Alaska with the Alaska Great Lakes Project. Eric, howeverm decided not to go on the trip because he had gone with his family the year before.
       Even though Hecox did not go on the AGLP trip he still loved Alaska and its beauty so much that he decided to move there. “When I was twenty-three I decided to move to Alaska. My friend and I needed jobs and his sister knew she could find us one, so he, his sister, and I moved 3,000 miles away from Marshall, Michigan to Seward, Alaska,” says Hecox. His job is on a fishing boat where he bates fish hooks, cleans and kills fish. He really loves his job.
       “I love Alaska because it is more colorful and has more culture. There’s also a lot more to do,” says Hecox, “I love being on the water with the mountains surrounding me.”
       Hecox is now living in Seward Alaska and still has his job on the fishing boat. “Even though I miss my family I am still having the time of my life in Alaska,” says Hecox, “My advice is not to get stuck in Michigan. Travel the world and don’t be afraid to check out new places. I have not met one person in Alaska that I don’t like,” says Hecox, “I absolutely love it.”