Arctic Entries

Jessica is a sophomore at West High School with a passion for music, traveling, and the outdoors. She spent her entire childhood outside in Alaska, whether it was cross-country skiing or hiking, and she absolutely adores traveling, especially internationally. She has two younger sisters with whom she does everything, and unlike most people, never checks her phone.

Sarah is a mother, photographer, and lifelong Alaskan. She loves to travel, and once schlepped a nun costume around Europe for five weeks just so she could spin around in the Austrian Alps singing “the hills are alive with the sound of music,”for a few minutes.

Darl has been in Alaska nearly 40 years and plans parties for a living. When asked what his autobiography would be called, he responded: Don’t Try to Out-Southern Me. He claims to be only slightly less dysfunctional than the rest of his family.

Daniel recently quit his job and started school in what may only be a premature midlife crisis. He grew up in North Pole, but currently lives in Anchorage.

Zac grew up in Talkeetna where he learned many things, including how to get drunk. Two weekends ago he practiced being drunk and that’s why he’s here.

Jake grew up in Utah, bounced around Europe and Africa for a few years, and moved to Anchorage in 2002. He describes himself as a mountain guy with a flair for the arts. He is happily married to Amy Malouf. So far they have climbed, along with their 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son, the highest mountain in 44 of the 50 states. This introduction has basically nothing to do with the story he...

Jeff moved to Alaska in 2004. He graduated from UAA in 2009 and worked in the IT and telecom industry for 7 years. He has run for the state senate twice, unsuccessfully (maybe third time is the charm?). He is widely known around Alaska for the infamous“Speedo-gate”scandal. He recently returned to Alaska from Australia, where he spent almost a year working and traveling. He started a blog, the Alas...

Sarah is a born-and-raised Alaskan. When she is not working as an employment attorney, Sarah loves to spend time exploring and adventuring with friends and family. She is a big fan of tutus and fanny packs.

With fist pounding on the lunchroom table for a bass beat in the 5th grade, this Wonder Woman used to be known as Kid Dynamite. Over the years, she cultivated her poetry, creative writing and emcee skills through contests, published works and open mics until she felt she reached a level of self-mastery. Nowadays, she is acknowledged as the dynamic M.C. MoHagani Magnetek.

Kokayi attended the Million Man March on October 16, 1995. Since that day, he has dedicated himself to addressing social injustice, using very interesting means to do so.

Gabriela’s native language is Spanish. Growing up, she thought that by memorizing all the words in the dictionary, she could better understand the world in which she lived, and made it all the way through M, before having to set the task aside. Many years later, she became a writer and an editor. She has published 11 books and is the editor of Sol de Medianoche, Alaska’s Hispanic newspaper. She pl...

Nettie is a lifelong Alaskan who moved back to Fairbanks after a brief period of misspent youth in Berkeley, California. She and her husband continue to toil in the cold and dark of Fairbanks, where they successfully raised two children. Their now-adult children have fled to Anchorage and to Denver, where they are contributing members of society, to their parents’ pride and joy.

Sarah is from Dillingham, newish to Anchorage. She spends most of her free time outdoors with her two dogs, or sitting somewhere with a drink in her hand obsessing over AK politics.

Nikka is a proud believer in the magic of the Christmas season— and she thinks you should be, too.

Tim got to Alaska as soon as he could, arriving a dozen years ago on the two year plan, although it’s unclear where exactly he came from. No matter, Alaska is home now. When he’s not busy experimenting in the kitchen or listening to music, he’s often making dinner for friends who come over to listen to music.

Corey is a flight paramedic with LifeMed Alaska; Ginny is an EMS battalion Chief and paramedic supervisor with the Matsu Borough. Their teenagers would often roll their eyes and proclaim the 4 p’s: overProtective-paranoid-paramedic- parents! They are just entering their fourth year as foster family.

Terre was born in Washington, but has lived in Anchorage since ‘77 and considers herself a true Alaskan. She is a wife, a mother of three, and a 25-year career flight attendant. She loves live theatre and is honored to be sharing her story.

Ben is 16 years old and a junior at West Anchorage High School; he especially loves the three month break that comes every May. He enjoys playing soccer and hanging out with friends, any chance he can get.

Teeka is a Language Arts teacher at Begich Middle School, the executive director of Alaska Theatre of Youth, a writer and artist, and one of the owners and the events coordinator of The Writer’s Block—a bookstore, café, and performance space. Set to open January 2018, the Writer’s Block is located at 3965 Spenard Road. For more information, visit: writersblockak.com, or write: teeka@writersblockak...

Olivia moved to Alaska from Chicago in 2013 to continue to pursue her personal interests and professional career in environmental work. She likes bad jokes, good weather, and nice people. Olivia originally hails from Pure Michigan, America’s high five.

Amanda is happy to be home in Anchorage after a decade away. Her big challenge this week is figuring out what winter gear to get—any advice?—so that she can spend enough time outside this winter to feel like a real Alaskan again. Her job, which is generally too enjoyable to be considered work, is coordinating education programs at the Alaska Humanities Forum.

Zachariah is a reporter for Alaska Public Media in Anchorage. His work has appeared nationally on NPR, Marketplace, and The Guardian, as well as the Iditapod, a podcast about the Iditarod. He grew up in New England, and has lived abroad in Turkey and the Czech Republic. He is 5’9” and has brown hair.

Originally from Anchorage, Melanie believes that you can find an adventure in every day if you know where to look. She has three life goals: to build an international career, to be someone’s crazy aunt, and to collect fabulous tales to tell from her rocking chair. She’s excited to share her storytelling debut with you tonight at Arctic Entries.

Emma is a lifelong Alaskan. She plans on becoming rich and famous soon.

Raj moved to Alaska in 2014. After completing his education in Montana, he decided he was prepared to move to a big city, thus, he chose Anchorage, the biggest city of Alaska. His hobbies includes fishing, reading nonfiction books and tasting beer. By profession, he is an accountant. By nature, he is a goofball. His strengths lie in networking and his weakness is public speaking. With Arctic Entri...