In the summer of 2016, I had the privilege of spending several months working as a Fellow for the Hillary for American Presidential Campaign, run by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. We spent the summer organizing grassroots campaign efforts in support of the 2016 Presidential Election, organizing voter registration drives, phone banks, contacting locals to volunteer and participate in the civic engagement process, helping to coordinate Hillary Clinton’s visit to Pittsburgh, and recruiting staff to man the massive community outreach effort undertaken by the Pennsylvania D.N.C. during this election cycle.

This was something very new for me, as I had never participated in an election campaign before. But it quickly became one of my fondest summers to date. Meeting volunteers who had worked for their chosen candidates for decades, young people eager to get involved in the process, bringing civic engagement and voter registration to poor and underprivileged areas. It truly was a blast, and I really felt as though we were bringing something truly meaningful to the local communities.

Even though it was not strictly internationally oriented, this grassroots effort to expand into all areas of society, to widen political participation and support for the United States democratic system, is very much along the lines of my career goals and passions in Political Science and in Conflict Resolution. I want to go and actually talk to people, learn about their lives and experiences, and understand what they want their world to be. We did this every day working for the campaign, and I hope to continue doing it internationally throughout my life.

On the right are photos from one of our many voter registration drives in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.