If you were to take a morning walk into Wood Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Sunday Jan. 15, you would see the Convention of Young Alaskans well underway. Young people aged 14 to 24 wait for coffee or talk to some of the state's most prominent politicians. Similarities run deeper than the delegates' professional dress, these young men and women all desire to do what is best for the state of Alaska.
At first glance, the conference seems like a stunt to give Alaska's biggest overachievers a chance to make the state look really good. However, a closer look shatters preconceptions.
Organizers made a huge effort to ensure the group was diverse in age and location in order to reflect the demographics of the state. Delegates themselves say they've taken notice of how their peers affect the conference. Alex Nelson, a junior at Juneau Douglas High School said this conference is unlike anything he's experienced before.
"I've been involved in a lot of organizations that empower Alaska's youth, such as AASG. I've been highly involved in that. I was excited to come here because it's a step up level of thinking. I mean, we're bringing in college students, and people from the work force, you know, taking a step up from high school students, to true young Alaskans."
Indeed members of this conference are truly interested in the future of Alaska, and how they can affect it. In a recent poll of delegates, 87 percent of them said they wanted to pursue running for public office or work in a leadership role.
Matt Moon, a 2005 Harvard University graduate, will soon be running for the state legislature from Anchorage. He says he has a lot respect for his fellow delegates.
"All 55 of these delegates are absolutely intelligent. The ideas that they bring, just, I was really, really impressed with everybody here. And I'm glad we could all come together."
Many delegates also have their own reasons for being in Fairbanks. Whether it's to observe civics in action, build an intrapersonal network or to advocate the importance of a specific issue.
Delegate and former Anchorage mayoral candidate David Dunsmore says the issue of families and communities provided a good forum to share his ideas.
"My personal goal for this conference is to come up with a recommendation to solve the healthcare crisis in this state. Currently, one in four Alaskans can not afford basic healthcare, and this is something that our mayors and legislators have been ignoring for too long, and if this conference gives me a chance to get that to change, I'm really excited about that."
With all of these future politicians and community leaders brought together, the potential is enormous. So it naturally follows that networking is an important aspect of the conference.
Conference head facilitator Brian Rodgers says meeting the right people is important in politics and life.
"I think the ability of the delegates to network with each other is an important part of this conference. This is an opportunity for young Alaskans from all over the state who are leaders in their communities, or will be leaders in their communities…They're likely to work together in the future, so the network that is happening here is important to the results of the conference."
However, it doesn't matter what events a future leader has attended, or what connections he or she has. It's up to delegates to take the initiative, and actually do something. Fortunately, that sense of accomplishment is something most COYA delegates are hoping to achieve. Perhaps Matt Moon puts it best:
"This conference isn't important. This conference isn't important at all. It's easy to come up with ideas and action plans and goals, and just say ‘these need to be plans and goals.' It's what you do afterwards with them. I plan on going into my community, and campaigning on some of these goals, and some of these action plans and what we need to do right now, and I want to encourage everybody, both here, and at the COYA, and every Alaskan out there to really take a look at what you really want to see happen, and take action."
COYA connects future leaders
