Jenay Mike, Empowering Our Shareholders
Storyknife, September/October 2025 edition
Jenay Mike, a Calista Shareholder with ties to Kotlik, wants to utilize her degree to serve Shareholders in a creative capacity. She graduated in April with a BA in Liberal Studies and a minor in Indigenous Studies from Alaska Pacific University and was the 2025 Social Media Intern at Nordic-Calista.
Jenay began her career as an artist learning from her mom, Theresa Mike, owner and artist of Theresa-m Piliari, a business featured on Calivika, Calista’s Shareholder-owned business directory. Theresa is also a past recipient of Calista’s Raymond C. Christiansen Business of the Year award.
“My mom would always offer to work with me on craft projects at home, and I started pretty young,” Jenay says. “I worked on beadwork and sewing and have grown into making many types of items like earrings, necklaces, fur mittens, purses and more.”
Over the years Jenay also learned different styles of beading and sewing to grow her skills.
“I started making a profit from my work when I was 15 years old after taking a workshop with an Elder from Eklutna,” Jenay says.
Her favorite class through her degree at APU was a beading class with June Pardue, an Alutiiq and Inupiaq artist originally from Old Harbor on Kodiak Island.
“It was during COVID, so it was at home online, but I got to bead, so it was the best class ever,” Jenay says. “It inspired me to continue my craft and build my creativity.”
Jenay’s parents are first generation college graduates who inspired her to go for her degree. She was able to work on and sell her crafts while going to school full-time. She graduated with the support of the Calista Education and Culture scholarship, her family and her kids.
“I admire that Calista’s mission and values are woven into the Yuuyaraq way of living, our traditional way of living.”
Jenay Mike, Calista Shareholder and 2025 Social Media Intern at Nordic-Calista
“The scholarship was a great support, and my kids were my biggest cheerleaders going through school,” Jenay says. “My kids were with me every step of the way, even when there were tears. They motivated me.”
Jenay was born in Sitka and lived part of her life in Interior Alaska at Copper Center. She felt a little disconnected from her culture growing up, since she didn’t live in the Region. In second grade she moved to Bethel for six months with her mom and felt truly embraced in her Yup’ik culture.
“I felt accepted into my culture and had my first [yuraq] dance at the Cama-i Dance Festival that year,” Jenay says. “Later on, I came back to sell my work at Cama-i.”
Looking back on her internship at Nordic-Calista, Jenay says she appreciated the chance to speak with Calista President and CEO Andrew Guy, other leaders in the corporation and cultural leaders.
“I liked learning from Andrew Guy, especially when he pointed out Yuuyaraq and how it relates back to Calista’s corporate values,” Jenay says. “I admire that Calista’s mission and values are woven into the Yuuyaraq way of living, our traditional way of living.”