Five members of the SUNY Oswego community had an opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., and attend a White House convening on Youth Civic and Voter Engagement on Nov. 22. 

Allison Rank, associate professor of politics and Vote Oswego campaign manager, was happy to travel with four of Vote Oswego's Fall 2024 interns –- Halle Collins, Alexandria Herard, Samantha Kern and Emma White. 

This event brought together faculty, staff, students and practitioners from around the country to share their experiences with and insights on nonpartisan civic and voter engagement work in the wake of the 2024 election. 

The opportunity came about because Rank contributed a chapter to a book titled “Leaning Into Politics: Higher Education and the Democracy We Need.” Robert Healy, an undergraduate student at Carleton College who co-authored another chapter and interned at the White House, put together the event, and Rank and other authors had the opportunity to nominate students for the gathering, held during Thanksgiving break. 

Rank and the students said the event provided an excellent opportunity to discuss their Vote Oswego activities, learn about what other institutions did and engage in networking.

“During this trip, I learned that all different kinds of professions and college graduates work in Washington,” Kern said. “Being a psychology major, I never really saw a career in politics as an option for me but I was able to network with many peers on this trip who work in the field despite not graduating with political science degrees. I can now see a future in politics that I never did before Vote Oswego. This trip also showed me further the importance of voter engagement and excited me for my support of activism in the future.”

Collins, a dual major in cinema and screen studies and in creative writing, led the university’s Get Out the Vote Film Festival as one of many civically minded activities on campus. Collins also interned last summer with a non-partisan think tank in the nation’s capital.

“One of the most important parts of a campaign is the post-mortem, where you figure out what worked and what didn’t,” Collins explained. “It was incredibly insightful to hear from other college students about their practices for voter registration and education. The struggles and successes vary so widely across campuses and states, and broadened my perspective and knowledge about best practices and strategies. It was also interesting to hear about campus or state-specific issues and discuss them as a collective.”

“I think it was great to see how different schools made their circumstances work and used their tools for their best interests. It showed that although the playing field may not be equal, we can all do our parts with the cards we are dealt,” Herard said.

“As a biology major, this opportunity was very surreal for me and not really something I’d ever expect,” Herard noted. “My job as coalition intern involved a lot of interaction with my peers and seeing how much or little they were interested in civic engagement and using that information to meet everyone where they were at. The panel in D.C allowed for a lot of conversation about the ways we can engage with students and better equip them to be involved citizens.”

Engaged experience

The group also had the opportunity to see the many sights of Washington, D.C., which some had never visited or been to recently.

“Because we had an incredibly early flight to D.C., we ended up having hours in the city before we were able to check into our hotel,” Rank recalled. “So we dropped off our luggage at the hotel and then went to explore the city. We were on the National Mall by 7:30 a.m., which meant we had the chance to experience a range of monuments with almost no one else around.” 

The group also had the opportunity to meet with two of New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s staff members. 

“The students asked great questions about pursuing political careers and how the staffers ended up with their particular specialties,” Rank said. “The staffers also arranged for the students to take a tour of the Capitol and escorted them from Gillibrand's office to the Capitol building on the subway system that runs under the Capitol complex, which I think was a real highlight for many of them.”

“I would like to thank Dr. Rank and SUNY Oswego for making this amazing experience possible for me,” Kern said. “The internship and the trip were highlights of my semester and I couldn’t be more grateful.” 

Collins agreed, thanking Rank for her “hard work and commitment. I’m incredibly grateful for every opportunity she’s given our intern team, and all her advice and support throughout the campaign.”

Students appreciated the campus-wide support of the Vote Oswego effort as well, with Collins praising the work of faculty members Jacob Dodd, Joshua Adams and Sari Fordham, as well as student filmmakers and actors for the success of the film festival. 

“The trip to D.C. would not have been possible without SUNY Oswego, who funded it,” Collins . added. “I’m so grateful to them for providing the resources to allow us to have this incredible experience.”