Stanford Students Seek to Understand Alaska's Housing Needs

On Tuesday, March 26, students from Stanford University’s Alternative Spring Break program visited Alaska Housing Finance Corporation headquarters to learn more about Alaska’s unique housing challenges.

Students met with CEO/Executive Director Bryan Butcher and Deputy Executive Director Akis Gialopsos for a Q&A session.

The Stanford Alternative Spring Break is a student-led initiative to thoroughly explore social and cultural issues around the United States. Student leaders select a topic and prepare a directed reading course, followed by a spring break trip to a designated state to further explore the topic. As part of the trip, students meet with community members and leaders from local organizations.

Studying Affordable Real Estate & Legal Access in Anchorage, Alaska

Student leaders Nicole and Steven chose the topic of Affordable Real Estate & Legal Access in Anchorage, Alaska with the goal to explore the intersection between real estate, public policy and urban design. Thirteen students signed up for the experience, many with academic interests in pre-law, policy and sociology.

The topic quickly expanded to include all housing issues in Alaska and how they compare to the contiguous 48 states. One question compared Alaska to Florida in frequency of natural disasters and the effects on housing and insurance.

“I really appreciate that we have college students focusing on the challenges of our housing and the sharp young minds we have searching for solutions,” Bryan Butcher said.

After meeting with Alaska Housing leadership, the Stanford students met with other housing partners like Neighbor Works and the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness.

"The 13 of us had an amazing experience at AHFC," Nicole said. "We have learned so much and hope to bring this same level of passion and dedication to our communities, while maintaining a long-lasting relationship with this interconnected network of housing-related organizations in Anchorage."

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Additional information about the Stanford program can be found at stanfordalternativ.wixsite.com/website/real-estate