Even looking at colleges outside of Alaska proved costly for some students. Kennedy originally decided to come to Harvard after visiting more than 40 colleges between his junior and senior years of high school.

"I had made $4000 after my sophomore year, so I just bought a Fly America plane ticket, which let me visit something like 12 cities," he says. "I would rent cars and sleep in the backseat."

Despite all the difficulties associated with going to school in what Alaskans call "the lower 48," the limitations of the Alaskan school system prompt them to travel far from home. The state government has traditionally recognized this necessity by loaning its migrant students approximately $5000 apiece toward each year's tuition, says Anchorage resident Scott Hunt '89.

However, Hunt also notes that the state now demands repayment on the loan, although it used to observe a "forgiveness" clause that wiped out students' debts if they lived in the state for five years or more following graduation.

The state clearly hopes to recover its most talented scholars after their college careers, and some of Harvard's Alaskans say they feel an obligation to their native state.

Hunt and Costello, both government majors, say they think they ought to go back. "As a Gov major, there is a good opportunity to work in Alaska," Hunt says. "Under the right kind of leadership, it could lose its backward reputation. That's what excites me--what would bring me back."

"The state is in a position to become a leader among the states--if for no other reason than its [natural] resources," he says.

But Araoz says Alaska's depressed economy and limited job market might keep him from returning to the state. And Thompson agrees. To further a prospective career in songwriting he plans to move to Los Angeles after graduation. "I want to give this civilization bit a chance," he says.

Most of Harvard's Alaskans say they are undecided about their plans for the future, but one of them isn't. Pananen knows he is going back.

"Definitely," the former trapper insists. "Alaska's the best. It's hard to explain. It's kind of...a mood."