Computers have been essential to finding my love for political science.
"Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you." - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
I first became captivated by public policy at the ripe age of 12. That may be a tad bit dramatic, but in all fairness I first started to watch the news and participate in student government in the 6th grade. What started as a club I was a little interested in, turned into a true passion. I can happily say that, in part, it was due to computers.
In 6th and 7th grade, I would park myself in the school library during study focus and I would take a seat in the computer lab. It was there that I spent my time researching Tennessee's policies and comparing one country's policy on a topic to another. Computers opened a whole new world for me, but it didn't stop there. In high school, my friends and I would gather around in a circle of computers, data sheets, and books filled with bills. We would spend hours and hours researching so we could show up to the conference knowing we were well prepared. Even at the conference, we would walk around, computer in one hand and placard in the other, waiting to research the next bill presented. Without a computer, the conference really would not have been possible.
Today, computers still are just as important for doing governmental work. Just yesterday, I had a zoom call with the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Department of Education. She gave me and a couple of other students advice and knowledge on getting into a field similar to hers. Without my school-provided laptop throughout the years, I would have never had that amazing opportunity.
In the near future, I will need a laptop for schoolwork related to my major. Additionally, it would be essential to have a laptop in my subsequent career. I will be traveling across the state to conferences, reviewing data, writing proposals, etc. It would be my platform for writing about legislation and keeping all the information I need in one place.
Here I am pictured with some of my fellow seniors who served as Secretariats for the MUN (Model United Nations) 2021 conference. I served as the Representative for the Special Department of Sexual Violence in Conflict.