Sara Collins and Rob Railey were born and raised in Ketchikan. Sara is the laborer supervisor and Rob is the assistant dock master at the Ketchikan Shipyard, operated by Vigor Alaska.

Rob has worked in many different roles throughout his 34 years at the shipyard. He started as a laborer apprentice, cleaning tanks and bilges. He later transferred to the paint crew, cleaning up sand from sand blasting paint off of vessels. Over the years Rob worked his way up from the paint crew to running the department and is now helping to run the yard. To Rob, the shipyard is a great opportunity for someone looking to learn a trade and work on the water. "You can start like I did," Rob says. "You can train on the job and gain the skills you need to work your way up."

Sara joined the shipyard as a laborer in 2015 after graduating from high school. "I came in very green and learned everything from the ground up," Sara says. "I enjoy working with my hands. The work is something that I've become good at and I can prove what I'm capable of doing."

Building, hauling out, and repairing vessels is a large task that requires teamwork. "In a small yard, we are very team oriented. Our success depends on each other." Sara says. "I've grown close with my crew, I look out for them."

Sara Collins' Hard Hat

"My hard hat is very sentimental to me. My former Supervisor Kip Thompson, who taught me everything I know, bought it for me. It's an everyday accessory that I wanted to personalize. I like to have stickers on it because hard hats are personalized to you. They are there to protect you and it shows that you have character and spark! I have the safety clips on my hat because everyone at the shipyard deals with compressed air lines. It's a safety precaution to always have some on you in case you run into an air line without them or have to set some up."