PTP Profile: Corey

Meet Corey, one of the Field Representatives responsible for turning out Democratic voters this November. In order to better understand him and his interest in political activism, we asked him to share with us his responses to a few questions. Check out his answers below, and we hope you enjoy this second installment of our PTP Profile series! 

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Q: Tell us a little about yourself. 

My name is Corey Lopez, and I am from Western Massachusetts. I spent my college years in Boston where I studied at Emerson College. I currently hold a very applicable BFA in Film Production, and I’m looking at possibly getting a Masters degree in a relevant field in the future. I spent the last five years traveling the world, living in places like Korea and New Zealand. While I loved traveling, it became a bit of an expensive hobby to maintain, so now I’m just sticking to taking as many photos as possible of Chicago’s urban life, as well as learning more about the activism scene here. 

Q: When did you first become interested in politics?

For me, politics didn’t come too quickly. I wasn’t exactly the most dedicated follower when I was a teenager. Instead, it just grew on me as I got older. Ironically, I really started following American politics closely when I first left the country. It partly came out of observing the different political systems in other countries and wanting to have a base to compare them too. The more that I saw, the more I would think about how we could be improving our system here. It also partly came out of a desire to represent America better when in a foreign country. Whether I liked it or not, my “Americanness” was taken into consideration with my every word and action. America already has enough not-so-great stereotypes abroad (have you seen the Kardashians?), and I wanted to defy them. I wanted to show others that Americans are a compassionate and thoughtful people who know what’s happening not only in their own country, but also the rest of the world.

Q: Why did you decide to join PTP?

I was very lucky growing up; my friends and family all voted and I assumed that everyone did. However, during the last general election in 2012, I was overseas, and I was shocked to learn that out of my twelve American colleagues, I was the only one who voted. And I was shocked! They all gave super lame excuses, and I discovered that I really had a passion for exercising my right to vote. Upon repatriating, I struggled to find a job at first, until I came across this opportunity to work with PTP. I remember getting excited because this was something that I actually cared about and wanted to do. So far, I have no regrets.
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Q: How have your past experiences helped prepare you as a Field Representative?

Prior to PTP, I was doing door-to-door fundraising for Greenpeace in New Zealand, after which I felt I could do pretty much anything. That whole experience was really helpful because I learned that I really enjoy outreach and talking to people. The most important lesson I took away from that experience was that working for an organization or cause that I was passionate about made all the difference. That was the first time in my life when I could say I was truly proud of who I worked for, and while the job was really tough, I endured many days of cold weather, rain and steep hills because I sincerely cared about the outcome. It was really empowering, and so I promised myself that I wouldn’t settle for less ever again. I’m just hoping that I can avoid some of the cold this time around. 

Q: What was the most memorable encounter you’ve had with someone while working as a Field Representative?

I’ve had a ton of really inspiring conversations with voters already. One of my favorites was a man who started the conversation by telling me that he hasn’t voted in sixteen years and he wasn’t planning on voting. Instead of taking that for an answer, I dug deeper. I asked him a string of questions about why he felt that way and so on, until I came to discover that he had clearly been following politics over the years and had developed strong opinions about current issues as a result. However, he was frustrated with the difficulty of voting and felt like his vote didn’t matter. I shared his frustration, but I was determined to inspire him, so I told him that he wasn’t alone, and that there’s a huge number of people that agree with him. We talked about the difference that could be made if all those people actually voted, which soon got him thinking about the many positives that could result if only more people contributed their voices through voting. By the end of our conversation, he felt really optimistic and thanked me for listening, and I walked away with a shared sense of positivity. 

Q: If you could have lunch with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Oh man, I feel like my answer here changes all the time depending on my mood. At this moment, I think I’d like to have a drink with Voltaire. I’ve always been really inspired by him and I’d love to hear him talk about some of the choices he made during his life time. I’d really like to know how he became such a provocateur and how he managed to inspire free speech while avoiding censorship. I also just think he’d be super entertaining. He’d probably have a bunch of interesting anecdotes that would make me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I’m positive I’d walk away from a conversation with him totally reeling. 

Q: Assuming you became President and had the ability to immediately pass one law, what would it be?

That’s such a hard question. There’s so many things that I really want to improve. Immigration, education, gun laws, healthcare, student debt, and so many others are all areas that absolutely need more work. But if I really had to choose one law, I would probably choose a really unpopular one: I would pass a law that raises taxes on gas so that it’s at least $10/gallon. That extra revenue would then be used to create a thorough and affordable public transit system that is convenient for every American to use to travel anywhere in the country. I would also use part of that money to create alternative energy sources and incentivize developing energy technology. 

Q: What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

My cat. I rescued him from a shelter in Korea and brought him back here with me. That guy and I have been through a ton. I don’t know what I would do without him. Call me a crazy cat man if you’d like, but that cat means a lot to me.