Mabil Duir Leadership Scholarship


The USUAA Mabil Duir Leadership Scholarship is awarded to UAA students who have strengthened student life through leadership and involvement within the UAA campus community. This scholarship is awarded in honor of the memory of USUAA Student Leader, Mabil Duir. Scholarships of up to $1,000 will be awarded to the selected applicants. Applications from members of underrepresented or non-traditional backgrounds are especially welcomed.

Mabil, affectionately known as “Mo,” Duir was a beloved member of the UAA and Anchorage community. Though he was born in Ethiopia, he considered Sudan his home country. Outside forces displaced him and his family at an early time in his life, resulting in their upheaval to the United States--an experience he looked back on negatively. From there, he was in the foster system until sports scholarships enabled him to rejoin family members in Anchorage. Despite this less than conventional background, he managed to make an impact wherever he went. At UAA, he was not only studying English and Political Science, but he was also involved with Black Student Union, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and USUAA’s Board of Cultural Awareness. He was a fierce advocate for underrepresented minorities and driven by a passion for social justice to the point of calling for ethnic and racial equity within UAA’s curriculum. He lost his life on April 6th, 2013, but his compassion for helping others lives on through the lives and organizations he touched, including this one. 

Submit application online by Google Form. If you have any questions please contact Zac Clark, Associate Director of Student Life and Leadership.

Apply for Spring 2024

This semester you will apply for the Mabil Duir Leadership Scholarship through Seawolf Life.

You will be required to sign in using your UAA username and password, and create and account. You will then be directed to the commencement speaker application.

If you have any problems or questions please contact Zac Clark at 907-786-1371 or zac@alaska.edu.

SSubmit applications by Sunday, Mar. 10 at 11:59pm.

Apply for Mabil Duir Leadership Scholarship

Eligibility Criteria

Students applying for the USUAA Mabil Duir Leadership Scholarship must meet the following minimum criteria:

  • Enrolled in three credits or more at UAA and be in good disciplinary standing
  • Minimum of 2.5 cumulative UAA GPA at time of application
  • Admitted to a degree-seeking program at UAA
  • Demonstrate, through the application materials, leadership contributions to the UAA campus community. Leadership contributions should have been made within the last academic year or the current semester for which the scholarship is awarded.
  • Submit a complete application packet

Note: Applicants are eligible for a leadership scholarship even if they are graduating at the end of the semester for which the scholarship is awarded.

Application Materials

Applicants must submit:

  • A narrative essay
  • Leadership resume
  • One (1) Letter of Recommendation must be from a current UAA student and One (1) Letter of Recommendation must be from current UAA Staff or Faculty Member.

Additional information about these materials may be found on the application page.

Leadership Essay

If you experience writer's block while composing your leadership essay, here are several questions that may provide inspiration:

  • UAA offers varied, and even temporary, opportunities for leadership roles. Can you think of any that helped shape the leader you are today?
  • Have you had an observable impact at UAA?
  • How have you taken charge of a situation at UAA?
  • Is there an area of your life where you feel you’re recognized and respected by a group of people (students/faculty/administration) that look to you for direction?
  • Is there a time you were hesitant to assume a large amount of responsibility or a leadership position, but did so anyway because no one else would?
  • How have you gone “above and beyond” for the UAA community?
  • How have you improved the student experience at UAA?