1985 - Douglas Anderson School of the Arts

1985 Demri, when she attended the the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, Florida (1985 – 1986).

Via @nehistripesseattle

When she was about fifteen or sixteen, Demri was one of three hundred prospective students to audition for twenty-five openings at a performing arts school in Jacksonville, Florida. Though the odds were against her, she was admitted. She came home for Christmas break after a few months and, in her mother’s words, “She blew it”. She had fallen in love with a young man back home, left the school, and moved back to Washington. [1] 

Kathleen Austin:“Demri was a sought-after babysitter in our small Arlington town. Word of mouth between families she engaged with the kids coloring, dolls and helping kids make special pictures for their mom and dad. A family she babysat for often was moving from Arlington to Florida. They came to me and asked if Dem could travel with them to entertain the kids on the road as well as babysit if needed. I believed it to be an incredible opportunity to see our country and agreed to allow her to go. The plan was they would fly her home at summer’s end. I received a call that the school [Douglas Anderson School of the Arts] was taking applications and auditions. 25 applicants were selected from 300! Dem was selected and was so excited I let her stay in Florida. We flew her home for Christmas, she met Kent, returned to Florida but didn’t stay. She managed to get greyhound bus ticket home – I’m sure she made friends on the bus and anywhere it stopped.” [2]  

*Kent Lake was Demri’s boyfriend at the time. They broke up somewhere in 1988.

*All the information has been collected from the "Memories of Demri" document shared on google drive*

Sources cited:

[1] Alice in Chains: The Untold Story by David de Sola

[2] Instagram: memoriesofdemri (no longer exists)