Q: Tell me about yourself.
I grew up outside of Detroit and lived there for most of my life. I attended the University of Michigan, where I studied History and minored in the History of Science.
Q: When did you first become interested in politics?
I’d say the first time that I actually became aware of politics as a positive thing was Obama’s first election because at the time I was at this very liberal private school, and I just saw the positive effect the election had on everyone around me and how excited they all were about it. The first election I actively followed was the 2012 one (because I could actually vote), and I was very happy to vote for Obama. I remember staying up late on the election night and watching him win. At the time, I wouldn’t say I truly understood politics– I had more of a cursory view that Republicans were generally bad and that Democrats were generally good. I didn’t formally start following politics though until I began studying history, because truly understanding history requires you to study many other disciplines along the way, including political science.
Q: Why did you decide to join PTP?
This election scared the hell out of me. Trump scares me more than any other candidate who has run for president in my lifetime. I just felt that this election was one that needed to be won, and really wanted to be on the ground. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t go into this thinking I would be able to single handedly stop Trump, but I at least wanted to be a part of the effort. This election is super important, not only because of the threat of a Trump presidency, but also because I think that the American people as a whole don’t realize the extent to which Congress matters in serving their needs. The president is largely responsible for foreign policy, whereas Congress is where true sovereignty lies, and I don’t think people realize that. It’s easy to point to a single person like the president and blame them for lack of progress as opposed to a collective body like Congress. A lot of the people I talk to are really scared of Trump, as I am, but not enough people understand the importance of electing competent officials to Congress who can restore a functioning and effective government that serves the needs of everyone.
Q: How have your past experiences helped prepare you as a Field Representative?
My college experience definitely helped in terms of how it shaped me. One of the things I really liked about studying history is that it enabled me to practice the skill of empathizing with people who’ve had totally different life experiences, which has really helped me here because it has allowed me to relate to people with radically different positions from me.
Q: What is the best tactic that you use to get someone to commit to vote?
I try and get people to talk about themselves and then tailor my responses to what they say their values are and what they care about. My approach is just to understand the person as best I can and then approach them on their own terms.
Q: What was the most memorable encounter you’ve had with someone while working as a field rep?
I’ve had many interesting conversations with people. I talked to this conservative guy from Britain who began discussing Brexit with me and the numerous parallels to our current election. We had a good conversation about how societies embrace immigration differently, which I found very interesting. I’ve also had great conversations with people who were involved in the civil rights movement in the 60s.
Q: If you could have lunch with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
I would pick Hypatia– she was really interesting. Back in the late Roman empire when they controlled the city of Alexandria, which was home to the fabled library of Alexandria, there was a famous female philosopher at the library named Hypatia, who was also an astronomer. She was an amazingly gifted scientist and philosopher for her time, but she was killed by Christians who saw learning and the library itself as aspects of the old pagan ways. I think it’d be so fascinating to bring her to the modern day and show her what modern science is today and get her reaction to where we are in terms of science and how far women have come. I would also love to get her opinion on Hillary Clinton.
