Löki Tobin
Anchorage, AK
My parents divorced when I was very young. I spent a majority of my time with my mother and very little time with my father. When I was 12, my mother decided I needed to “know” my father and forced me to move from Juneau to Nome. I was born in Nome and spent summers there, but had little idea of what Nome really was like.
My first year there was turbulent. Toward the end, I realized that Nome had much more to offer me. I decided to remain in Nome and my sister (two years younger) returned to Juneau.
Although being in Nome allowed me to come out of my shell, I experienced quite a bit of stereotyping. Both my parents are well-known in the community and I had big shoes to fill. At 15, I was leading a youth advisory board, president of my high school class, working at a non-profit agency, actively participating in Girl Scouts, Nome Youth Court, National Honors Society, Peer Helpers, the drama club, basketball, wrestling, cross country...you get the picture.
I was the role model for many individuals. The stress of all those responsibilities, plus family problems could have broken me if it was not for Marsha Maroelli. As Director of the Bering Strait Community Partnership, she took me under her wing and allowed me to succeed, fail, attempt and be a kid.
Everyone expected so much from me and Marsha was no different, except she allowed me to fail and was there when I did.
