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Campaign 2006 students get hands-on experience
“Campaign 2006” class gets students field and office experience during election season
Name: Jonathan David
Working for: Committee of Seventy
Position/Primary Responsibilities:
Intern, helping to prepare Committee of Seventy’s Election Day program. So far, I am helping to coordinate recruitment and training of volunteers to help voters at the polls and preparing documents for the election-based traffic to Seventy’s Web site.
What first sparked your interest in politics?
I first became interested in high school during the 2000 elections. I attended rallies and helped disperse literature for Ralph Nader’s campaign, because I disagreed with the unfair advantages of the two-party system and wanted to work for change in political, social and environmental policies of the United States.
What’s been the most fun you’ve had during this experience?
It’s still too early to tell, though working for such a well-regarded organization in Philadelphia politics has been rewarding in itself.
What are your career goals/political aspiration?
I would like to pursue work in the field of sustainable environmental practices and greater domestic implementation of renewable energy resources, possibly working for the Environmental Protection Agency, or a similar non-government or state-based organization. I could see myself working for a lobbying organization promoting more responsible environmental policy and more effective regulation methods.
Name: Jack Posobiec
Working for: Santorum for Senate
Position/Primary Responsibilities:
I am an intern in the Montgomery County office. We are the headquarters for the campaign in one of the most hotly contested areas of the state, the southeast. Our Get-Out-The-Vote efforts are larger than anywhere else in the state, and the demand for us to produce is greater as well.
What first sparked your interest in politics?
I have always been interested in modern life and the study of history, and I have always had very strong opinions and ideas about them. I feel that it is in the best interests of America to focus on solid morals, family values, traditions and national security. I have always felt that I wanted to do more to enhance my community and my country, and through political action, I have found a place where I believe I may accomplish that.
What’s been the most fun you’ve had during this experience?
I love meeting the voters. It is an incredible experience to meet the people who support the senator. It is exciting to meet people of diverse backgrounds who share the same ideas and values about life, family, and keeping and honoring traditions. Being the token Republican in class is also pretty fun.
What are your career goals/political aspirations?
I am very interested in working for the government. Whether on the Hill, or elsewhere, I have always known that Washington, D.C., is my dream destination. While I am interested in all facets of politics, my focus is foreign policy. I will be studying foreign affairs and language in China for my final semester. And, of course, I want to be U.S. president someday. I’ll get there eventually.
Name: Dameria Tobing
Working for: SEIU State Council
Position/Primary Responsibilities:
I am in charge of organizing the schedules of the different union members every week. I have to connect each shop that contains union members, and I have to set up meetings or leaflets with them so that the SEIU members can talk to them about the upcoming election and who the labor movement has endorsed. I also take part in the leafleting, canvassing and phone banks.
What first sparked your interest in politics?
It really became obvious when I took my first civics class in middle school, and from then on I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I find it incredible how our country’s government works compared to others’, and how our politicians can get into office. Anyone from a blue-collar worker to a celebrity to a lawyer can end up becoming a politician.
What’s been the most fun you’ve had during this experience?
Just being around people who are as pumped up about politics as I am really makes the experience more enjoyable. I have really been able to connect with my boss and the 25 union members that I get to work with, so that makes it fun as well.
What are your career goals/political aspirations?
I would like to stay in the field I am right now doing political organizing for labor unions. But I would also love to travel to learn more about the way politics influences other countries. If I am unable to find something in the political field, I will mostly likely be turning toward law school.
Name: Adam Caplan
Working for: Rendell for Governor
Position/Primary Responsibilities:
For my first few days, I was calling senior centers around the state, specifically in target counties, and setting up campaign events at those centers with the site directors. Since then, I have been working closely with the campus coordinator, both recruiting volunteers at area colleges and helping out at the governor’s events on college campuses.
What first sparked your interest in politics?
I first became interested in politics around the time that most people my age decided that they wanted nothing to do with them. While a frighteningly large portion of young people see politics as something that is distant from their own lives, I see politics as being at the heart of everything we do every day, from going to school to earning a living to caring for our sick parents and grandparents, and everything in between.
What’s been the most fun you’ve had during this experience?
I’ve really enjoyed going to college campuses and talking to young people about the election and the campaign season at large. I am confident talking to strangers, and it is always an adventure to work out of the office and out of my comfort zone. Also, the youthful atmosphere in my office is always refreshing and I love my co-workers.
What are your career goals/political aspiration?
I’d love to start a publication for young people that forges a link between pressing global issues and their everyday lives. I also want to study foreign policy and affairs on a graduate level and would like to work in a global policy think tank, helping to craft equitable and sustainable policies for global economic development.
— Alix Gerz
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