Hey there, my name is David. I'm a representative from Phoenix College and I am currently in my junior year of my education pursuing a degree in interdisciplinary arts and sciences. And, wow, the ENACT program there is a lot to talk about. I will try to keep it short.
I was originally contacted by my poli sci professor who I have been working with for a couple years now and who has kind of been my mentor through my educational journey. And when he told me a lot of the purpose of ENACT was to explore local politics. I thought that that was really important.
I think often in political science education there is such a huge emphasis on everything at a federal level. However, anyone who is familiar with politics know[s] that most of what shapes our direct lives comes from that local aspect, so I really appreciated that.
And when I finally got my time to talk with David and the rest of the team I was... I was really surprised and I was really glad that they were so flexible to the approaches we took when looking into our term specific bills. For me, I looked at HB2112, a "teacher gag" bill that prevents any use of terminology that refers to race or religion or sex or gender in the classroom or in the curriculum. And this is obviously a very contentious bill; people have a lot of feelings about this, and the team was pretty amenable to that.
They understood that this is the nature of politics, we are talking about the people and what people want and what people don't want. I appreciated that, that they allowed me to take such an upfront approach to looking at a bill like this. And I think... If you are someone who wants to work in politics then this is the best kind of exposure you can get. You are not only having to study the demographics of people who are affected by bills but also the narratives that are used to encourage people to back bills or go against bills... Looking at each part of you know... starting from that clipboard signing on a college campus all the way through it becoming a house bill.
It really is an incredible analysis of just part of local politics and not only that, but ENACT provides a lot of networking opportunities. It is a big deal to be a part of this, so saying that you are a part of a federal... Or a national group, I should say, of students looking at the legal standards. ...It is an incredible way to get your foot in the door. A lot of members already do have a lot of political ties, so join a networking night and see what you can do.
I can’'t thank ENACT enough for the opportunity I had with them and I really hope you take the time to sign up.