This week we’re hearing from Demry Mebane in Anchorage. Mebane moved up here four years ago from Texas and just started his last year at UAA, after which he plans on attending law school.
MEBANE: Whether you look at my role in Model United Nations, as the ombudsman in student government, or even the job that I have right now in the Emerging Leaders program, these opportunities would not be available for me at a bigger university or in a bigger city. And if they were available, I’d have to definitely fight tooth and nail to get that position. I’m also studying for my LSATs. I just finished up an internship with the mayor’s office, I’ve stayed quite busy while I’ve been here.
I don’t see myself just staying in one occupation. I think that ultimately, the main principle behind my life will to be give. And that’ll mean to give as much as possible.
My internship with the mayor’s office was actually through Americorps. Each student got set up with a different department. I was lucky enough to get hooked up with the police department here in town, and I was responsible for getting research from different people that lived within Fairview, Mountain View and Spenard to see how police could police better in those areas.
I worked with another student — Sevi Sheppard — who was in the Justice program. Talking to those residents within Fairview about their issues that they weren’t able to vice prior to Sevi and I knocking on their door felt great. Because these people had had issues that they felt as though their municipality didn’t care. I think being able to articulate your problems is step one. And hopefully step two comes from the mayor’s office and comes from the police department frlm the data we gave.
I came up here for a What If. A perhaps. I kinda came up here slightly on a whim. And I’d say that decision has shaped my life for the better. And this decision and this move up to Alaska was completely necessary. So one word would be necessary. Multiple words would be: I would do it again and again.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
