How One Millennial Professional Is Going ALL IN To Engage College Students In Democracy

I was building my ideal career path in my head for the last three and half years. I would graduate from college a semester early and use my double major in communications and public relations to secure a job at a major communications outlet or firm.

I was the classic example of the small town girl who wanted to move to the city where everything was supposed to fall into place. Little did I know, you can find the biggest opportunities in the smallest places—like on a team of three people working to engage student voters across the country.

I first heard about the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge when I attended a mandatory speaking event for a program at school. I can’t recall why I picked that specific session to attend, but for some reason it stood out from the rest. And as it turns out, it’s stuck with me ever since.

Prior to taking this job, democratic and civic engagement were two concepts that were never really part of my vocabulary. The 2016 presidential election was not only the first election when I was able to vote, but it was also the first time I really engaged in discourse about the future of our country. That being said, in the days leading up to the election, I remember feeling so frustrated and angry that my friends and classmates just didn’t seem to care as much as I did. When asked about their stance on the candidates or local issues, half weren’t sure where or how to vote and the other half just wanted to talk about how they were going to vote for a deceased gorilla that made national headlines (R.I.P. Harambe). While this experience was frustrating and eye opening to me, I didn't realize how much it would impact the months to come.

A week after the election, I still did not have my big dream job. What I did have was a meeting with Cat, the Associate Director of the ALL IN Challenge. I remember calling my mom after our initial meeting, and then again after my formal interview, buzzing with excitement, because for the first time in a while, I found something that was new—and a little intimidating—yet also something I felt passionately about. It wasn’t what I’d been imagining, but I knew right away it was where I wanted to be.

What I love most about working on the ALL IN Challenge is that I feel that I am contributing to something greater than me, no matter how small the task. Even if I’m working on spreadsheet, it’s a great feeling to know that in the long run, what I’m doing is working towards the big picture of increasing student voter rates and encouraging democratic practices on college campuses across the country. I don’t think that I would have achieved this kind of satisfaction from my big corporate dream job.  

Although my friends may not have been as engaged as I would have liked, that doesn’t mean that all college students across the U.S. share the same feelings. There are individuals on campuses all over the country who genuinely care about increasing voter rates and have made historic progress to encourage their students and peers to not only get out and vote but get out and care about what they are voting for. For example, I recently heard about a communications professor who, last fall, had students go out and help register voters in order to develop better public speaking skills. This type of learning experience not only helps students develop their public speaking and dialogue skills, but it brings democratic engagement and civic awareness into a classroom where it might not traditionally be found. 

It’s been eye opening and inspiring to see how many individuals do care and want to create improvements for the future. Whether it’s the other student voting initiatives I interact with through the ALL IN Challenge, or the amazing initiatives and campaigns I work alongside at Civic Nation, there is so much incredible work being done to get more young people civically engaged.

It’s easy to get bogged down in what needs to happen and what is lacking, but when you consider all the progress that’s already been made—and is still being made—it sure makes things a lot brighter.

Shelby Harold, Civic Nation