He shook President Barack Obama's hand. Now senior criminal justice major Marwin Strong wants to make his own mark in politics: He's running for Muncie City Council.
Strong announced earlier this week that he will run for one of the three positions available on the city council in the spring election. Strong will run against community members Nora Powell and Alison Quirk.
Strong said he's prepared because of his background.
"I've lived on both sides of the fence — drugs, violence — but I've also lived the life of a good life as a productive citizen of Muncie," he said.
Strong was born and raised in Muncie and attended Muncie Central High School, but his life was no fairy tale. Strong grew up in a home filled with violence, drugs and prostitution.
"It was just a normal thing," he said.
At a young age, Strong got his start in the drug business.
"There's a saying that you are part of your environment," he said. "I started selling drugs. I wanted the women. I wanted the nice cars. I didn't know anything about jobs. I just wanted to survive. I had to feed my family."
In 1998, Strong's life took a turn for the worst. One moment, he was at a party with friends and the next thing he knew he was laying in a hospital bed two months later.
Strong's drink was spiked with more than just alcohol one night. It was spiked with iodine.
Strong was in a coma for two months and spent two years in the hospital as a result.
"I had to learn to walk again, talk again, just like a newborn baby," he said.
After recovering, he went to college at the University of Massachusetts where he played basketball. From there, he returned to Muncie and became a landlord at the same apartments he used to live in as a young boy.
It was also the place he got his start in politics.
Strong said he wanted to make a change in the community when he founded the non-profit organization Fight Against Drugs and Violence. He's also chairman of the Human Rights Committee.
"I want to go in [the race] as a servant, not a politician," Strong said.
The main focus of Strong's campaign is to bridge the gap between Muncie and Ball State.
"I feel like Muncie and Ball State are two different environments, and as a student at Ball State I feel like I don't have a voice in what goes on outside of campus," sophomore criminal justice major Delia Welshsaid said. "It's my city, too."
The spring elections will narrow down the possible candidates running for the council positions and the final vote will be held in November.
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