From Student to Software Developer: How Kartorium Helped One Alaskan Find His Place in Tech

When University of Alaska computer science student Anthony van Weel set out to find an internship, he knew exactly what he didn’t want: a generic IT role. 

“It’s easy to find a job doing IT,” he said. “Not so easy finding a job in Alaska doing programming.” 

Through the university’s Students2Startups program, Anthony landed an internship that did just that, offering real-world development experience at Kartorium, eventually leading to a full-time role that has allowed him to stay in Alaska and build his career.

Above: University of Alaska graduate Anthony van Weel. (Courtesy photo)

Kartorium is an Alaska-based startup and Launch Alaska Portfolio company that enables the quick creation of three-dimensional representations of facilities and infrastructure through a digital twinning platform. It can revolutionize how businesses conduct work planning, training, and operational monitoring.

The Students2Startups program bridges the gap between university students and Alaska’s growing startup ecosystem. It pairs aspiring tech talent with tech startups eager to bring fresh ideas and skills into their projects. Many startups in the program are part of Launch Alaska’s portfolio. Through this program, students get the chance to work on meaningful projects that go beyond classroom exercises, gaining hands-on experience in real business environments.

Real Code, Real Impact

Anthony interned at Kartorium during the summers of 2022 and 2023. In his first summer, he focused on smaller tasks — debugging and implementing key features. By his second summer, he was leading development on a major upgrade: a tiling system that allows users to view massive image files more efficiently, improving performance for communities with limited internet bandwidth.

“Kartorium shared a list of potential projects, and I chose the tile project because it seemed the most interesting,” Anthony said. The project involved studying platforms like Mapbox and developing a similar system tailored to Kartorium’s needs. The result? A smoother, more accessible user experience aligned with Kartorium’s mission to help communities engage with data through intuitive tools.

Learning the Startup Way

Anthony quickly discovered that working at a startup was very different from his academic experience. 

“College doesn’t really prepare you for this – the actual experience does not match how it’s taught in class,” he said. “They should probably have more semester-long projects that reflect what work is actually like.” 

Unlike short-term school projects, his work at Kartorium involved building software that would be maintained and improved over time. It also gave him a valuable feel for startup culture. 

“In smaller companies, if you need something, you can just go one room over and talk to the exact person you need,” Anthony explained.

This connected, collaborative environment allowed him to quickly gain new skills and complete projects with real-world impact.

Sharpening Skills and Direction

Throughout the internships, Anthony worked on full-stack development and cloud applications. He improved platform usability by fixing bugs and enabling multi-file uploads — changes that make a difference for Kartorium’s users.

But what surprised him most wasn’t just how much he learned, it was how the experience helped him find his direction.

“Programming isn’t one thing,” he said. “There are a hundred different subfields that are all completely different from each other.” 

Exposure to Kartorium’s full tech stack gave him insight into areas like front-end, back-end, and cloud architecture. That breadth helped him identify what he didn’t enjoy — and what truly clicked.

“I’m interested in learning more about multithreaded programming,” he said. “I also want to get better at database programming, since that’s something many companies value.” The experience, he said, “helped me figure out just what exactly I wanted to do and figure out what roles I actually want to aim for.”

From Intern to Full-Time Developer 

Anthony sees internships like his as a crucial step in overcoming the biggest hurdle for many job seekers: gaining initial work experience. “It seems like everybody wants at least two to three years of experience. So once you get over that initial experience hurdle, you suddenly become a lot more desirable as a job candidate.” 

After his second internship ended, Anthony secured a full-time position with Kartorium, a major stepping stone for his tech career. Today, he works as a web developer with the company, gaining hands-on experience as he charts the next step in his tech career.

Anthony’s growth from intern to full-time developer wasn’t just a win for him; it was a smart move for Kartorium. 

“Anthony has truly earned his place on our team,” said Jay Byam, Kartorium CEO. “He interned with us through Students2Startups twice—first exceeding expectations so thoroughly that when he returned for a second summer, we entrusted him with a much larger project, which is now part of our production offering. I found out he was graduating early when he attended a presentation I gave at UAA, and as soon as I heard, I offered him a job. He’s now been a full-time developer with us for almost a year, and it’s hard to imagine the team without him.”

For Kartorium, the Students2Startups program not only helped bring new talent into their pipeline, it made the hiring decision straightforward. 

“Students2Startups played a key role in that journey,” Jay said. “Getting to work with Anthony for two full summers, with no financial risk on our part, completely de-risked the hiring decision. We already knew we liked his work and his attitude—it became a no-brainer.”

Anthony is one of many interns whose contributions have shaped Kartorium, and their experiences highlight a key part of what makes Students2Startups successful: building strong local connections. 

“Students2Startups has given us the opportunity to work with seven exceptional young people over the years –  each a joy to have on the team,” Jay said. “With their feedback, we developed a generalized internship program that has now supported 19 interns. Many have made significant contributions to our production codebase, but their impact on team morale and culture has been just as meaningful.”

Anthony echoes that sentiment when reflecting on the program’s value. 

“Make connections with people who work locally—that ultimately pays off,” he said. “In Alaska, there are so few software developers that chances are someone knows someone who can recommend you. That’s a unique thing about Alaska.”

Stories like Anthony’s highlight why investing in Alaska’s startup ecosystem matters: it gives young professionals a reason to stay, contribute, and grow their careers close to home.