Name:
Michael Marcel El Koubi

Date of Birth:
June, 26 1982

About Me:
Born in Germany to military parents, Marcel and Nancy, I lived in Mannheim near Heidelberg until I was 3 years old. After that my parents settled with my older brother, Jason, and me in Leesville, Louisiana. At the age of 16 I went to the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, where I first discovered my love of scholarship. Two years later I went to Louisiana State University to work on my B.A. in History and German, with a minor in Political Science.

Upon graduation in May 2004 I started serving a year in the Americorps. My post was in the Baton Rouge Mayor President’s Office, working in what can best be described as the Office of Neighborhood Services as a communications specialist, handling the office’s public relations and the production of public documents. I also had a minor role as a policy advisor and resident envelope licker.

Following my term in the Americorps I enrolled in the Peace Corps and served in Bulgaria from August 2005 to September 2007.  I was stationed in an institution for youth offenders in a small town called Zavet. All the children committed there are boys, most of them of Roma or “Gypsy” ethnicity. I did enrichment programs, fundraising, English instruction, and playtime with them. I viewed myself primarily as a big brother and a role model for them before anything else.

I now work as the Research and Analysis Manager at Capital Area United Way in Baton Rouge.  My primary duties include researching what sort of community initiatives work when targeting specific problems and issues, finding statistics and data about our community, and evaluating agency and program performance. I’ve been at it since January and feel like I’ve figured a lot of it out.

I have interests in many things, but I particularly enjoy reading, listening to music, watching films, playing soccer and kickball, and volunteering. Eventually I plan on graduate school for a M.A. in International Relations, Foreign Policy Decision Making, Public Policy, or Government.