Bent Alaska received a great topic request from an Alaska-raised grad student who is studying in the lower 48: What is it like to be an openly LGBT professional in Alaska?

I’m a new reader to your blog and 18-year Alaskan. I left Alaska to go to university in 2005 and stayed for medical school. I’m currently in my seventh year. At my university there are usually about 5 or 6 kids from Alaska each year and inevitably, most are gay. In my year, only one of the kids from Alaska was not gay (and he was an awesome dude!)

It seems like a lot of young gay Alaskans get out of Alaska as soon as they can — that’s old news. What I’m interested in are those Alaskans who are gay who left, but went back.

Why did they choose to return? How have their experiences been? What is it like to be an out professional in Alaska? Rural v. urban? What kind of community awaits them? Did they return with a partner?

I’d love to read more in depth about this issue!

OK, readers — what do you think? Did you return after graduating from an out of state school? Tell us your reasons for returning, and what it’s like for you as an LGBT professional in Alaska. Leave a comment below, or email us directly at Bent Alaska @ gmail .com (without the spaces), and we will include your response in the follow up post. Help this university student and others decide where to start a career after graduation.

And if you have a topic you’d like to see on Bent Alaska, please tell us about it!

Photo: A crowd of college students at the 2007 Pittsburgh University Commencement, by Kit of Pittsburgh. Via Wikimedia Commons; used in accordance with Creative Commons licensing.