Snorri alumni interns
Returning for a different adventure
Author: Julie Summers, Co-Project Manager, The Snorri Programs
The Snorri Foundation is pleased to announce the two alumni who have been selected to return to Iceland as Snorri alumni interns this summer: Amber Drake of Lahaina of Hawaii (Snorri 2018) and Sydney Veldhuis of Edmonton, Alberta (Snorri 2022). Ten years have passed since the Snorri Alumni Internship was piloted as a collaborative project between the Snorri Foundation, the Icelandic Emigration Center in Hofsós, and the Canadian and US Embassies in Iceland. Except for two years when all programs were cancelled during the pandemic, the alumni internship has operated annually ever since. Amber and Sydney will be the 17th and 18th program alumni to return as interns. Each will spend about two months this summer volunteering alongside other staff and volunteers under the direction of Emigration Center founder Valgeir Þorvaldsson and his wife Gunna.
From the Pacific to the North Atlantic: Meet Amber
Amber Drake has called Hawaii home for nearly ten years, but her roots are in Utah, her Icelandic ancestors having been part of the wave of Mormon converts who emigrated to Spanish Fork in the 1800s. Growing up, though, she knew nothing of that story or her connection to it; her dad was adopted, and he only discovered his Icelandic heritage when he identified his birth mother in the early 2010s. After he found his birth family, says Amber, the entire family embarked on a journey to learn more about their ancestors’ story. Her participation in the Snorri Program in 2018 marked the first time in nearly 60 years that anyone in her family had returned to Iceland – her great-grandfather had visited relatives in the 1950s, and the family that hosted her for her Snorri homestay had a guest book where she discovered his signature.
Amber’s participation in the Snorri Program came at what she says was a challenging transitional period in her life. Her time on the program not only revealed more about where her family came from, it helped her rediscover her sense of self. “The Snorri Program was one of the most influential experiences that aided me in my journey. Learning more about the resilience and strength of my Icelandic ancestors inspired me and led me to realize the resilience I had within myself.”
Back in Hawaii after the program, Amber’s journey of self-discovery continued. She had already been involved in mental health advocacy for years, including through the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and is now on the state board of directors for NAMI Hawaii. She decided to go one step further and pursue a career in mental health work, enrolling in a master’s program in clinical mental health counseling. In 2023, partway through that program, her world was turned upside down by the Lahaina wildfires. It was an experience that tested the resilience she felt so strongly during her Snorri trip. Despite that devastating setback, Amber is set to graduate with her master’s next month. After the alumni internship, she plans to work toward licensure and eventually hopes to have her own clinical practice and incorporate art therapy into her work.
Utilizing art in her counseling work seems only natural for Amber, a talented artist who published two coloring books of her own drawings a few years back. This summer, she plans to begin working on an interactive coloring book designed to help future visitors to the Emigration Center explore Icelandic culture and heritage. Besides her artistic endeavors and enjoying the natural beauty of Maui, Amber keeps busy playing the Scottish Highland bagpipes as well as small pipes, which are a smaller and quieter version of the traditional bagpipes that everyone knows. She’s been playing for eight years and is a member of the Isle of Maui Pipe Band. She plans to bring her pipes to Iceland this summer and play for the Hofsós community.
While there’s a vast distance between Iceland and Hawaii, they’re not entirely dissimilar places; they’re both volcanic islands where the earth is still shifting, resulting in dramatic, breathtaking landscapes and stunning nature that awakens a certain awe and a strong sense of place. In fact, Amber says her first trip to Iceland helped her to better understand her native Hawaiian friends and neighbors. “Many Native Hawaiians have a deep, interconnected relationship with the land, and they take on the responsibility of being stewards of the land in body and spirit. From the moment I landed in Iceland, I immediately felt that sense of place I had heard many Hawaiian friends talk about. It’s difficult to describe, but I felt a spiritual connection to Iceland, and I feel that I left a piece of my heart there.”
Amber has known about the alumni internship since her Snorri trip and has been wanting to apply for years, but this year the timing was finally right for her to return to where she left that piece of her heart seven years ago. Amber hopes her time in Iceland this summer will help her reconnect with her heritage and her Icelandic family, decompress from the stress and busyness of the past few years, and give back to the Snorri Programs and the Hofsós community. She’s looking forward to meeting museum guests from around the world and helping those of Icelandic descent dig into their family histories. “The Snorri experience was a profound part of my personal journey, and I hope museum guests learn about the strong connections between North Americans and Icelanders and make some personal connections of their own. I hope they leave the museum with a deeper appreciation and understanding of those who emigrated and perhaps discover stories about their own ancestors.”
Ice skating and engineering: Meet Sydney
Sydney Veldhuis hails from Stony Plain, Alberta, but has called Edmonton home since moving there for school in 2016. Sydney was part of the largest Snorri cohort ever, one of 22 participants in 2022. She says the unusually large size of the group didn’t detract from the experience in the slightest, though. “It was one of the best experiences of my life. Exploring Iceland with my fellow Snorris was incredible – there was always someone suggesting a new place to explore and always someone else ready to tag along for the adventure.”
In 2021, Sydney earned a degree in mechanical engineering with a focus in biomedical engineering from the University of Alberta. She currently works for an engineering consultant firm that specializes in risk and reliability assessment of energy infrastructure. Thankfully, her company fully supports her summer plans and has granted her a leave of absence.
When she’s not working, you might find Sydney on the ice. An accomplished skater herself, she works as a Skate Canada coach with the Tri Area Skating Club. In addition to coaching kids’ classes three days a week, she recently helped coordinate the club’s spring ice show. And she has no plans to hang up her skates any time soon; in fact, she’s aiming to obtain regional certification so she can also coach figure skating starting next year. Some of Sydney’s other interests include hiking, crafting, and reading. She takes full advantage of living so close to the beautiful Canadian Rockies and often heads to Jasper or Banff National Park for the weekend. Another thing Sydney enjoys in her free time is connecting with her local Icelandic community. She currently serves as social media co-chair for the Icelandic Canadian Club of Edmonton with fellow Snorri alumna Georgia Hladysh (Snorri 2023).
Although it will be a stark contrast to her Snorri Program experience with a record-size group, Sydney says she has no concerns about the relative solitude and slower pace of life in a small seaside town this summer. One of the things she’s most looking forward to, besides just experiencing the rhythms of daily life, is having an extra push to practice her Icelandic skills, which she has continued working on in courses through her local Icelandic club. “It’s exactly the motivation I need to take my Icelandic language training to the next level. Immersion is the best way to learn a language, and I’m eager to connect with the people of Hofsós and deepen my understanding of Icelandic culture.” Besides building up her vocabulary and improving her overall facility in the language, Sydney says she’s hoping to finally master the skill of rolling her Rs. Cultural exchange and language immersion are familiar to Sydney, who completed the first year of her engineering program at Campus Saint-Jean, the University of Alberta’s French-language campus. Cultivating her French was a no-brainer for Sydney, who has French Canadian roots in addition to her Icelandic heritage.
Asked what she is most looking forward to about volunteering at the museum, Sydney says she can’t wait to hear people’s stories. “Whether they have Icelandic roots, a personal connection to emigration history, or just stopped by out of curiosity, I know every visitor will have something unique to share, and I can’t wait to hear their perspectives.” Her role as an intern, she says, is to inspire and guide visitors. “I hope visitors leave with new insights into the deep connections between Iceland and North America and, ideally, inspired to share what they’ve learned with others. Museums can sometimes feel overwhelming, with so much to absorb in a small space, but my goal is to be an engaging guide who makes the experience memorable. Even if people don’t remember every detail, I hope a few fun facts will stick with them.”