Paul C. Demakis '75 says he knew he would be a politician long before he went to college.

Harvard, the Massachusetts state representative says, only helped him along his way, providing the tools to understand the political arena.

"I don't think there's anything that a school can do specifically to 'teach' you how to pursue elected public office," says Demakis, a former government concentrator who spent much of his College career at the Institute of Politics. "You have to have a lot of self-motivation to do something like run for elected office."

Demakis says he found his motivation early on. He credits his family for his interest in public service, though he suspects that politics is not the profession they would have chosen for him.

"I remember staying up late in 1960 to hear who won the presidential election," he recalls. "I grew up in a family where politics was a constant subject of discussion. However, active political involvement was somewhat disdained." Demakis says his father considered running for office as "sort of a step down."

The political discussions shaped his outlook, not the scorn for politicians, which he was largely able to ignore, he says.

"Obviously, it didn't affect me enough," he says with a laugh.

Demakis is now serving his third term as a Democrat in the Massachusetts State Legislature, an outcome that doesn't surprise one Eliot House roommate.