Darlington School: Private Boarding School in Georgia Lobbyist Alumna Visits AP U.S. Government
Darlington School: Private Boarding School in Rome, GA
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Lobbyist Alumna Visits AP U.S. Government

Brant Evans | October 21, 2015 | 587 views

On Tuesday, my AP U.S. Government class had a fantastic opportunity.

Although I have been able to take part in government in ways such as voting, campaigning, jury duty, and being a poll worker, I may never get the chance to lobby a member of Congress, clerk for a federal judge, be a campaign manager for a candidate, or be a voting member of the Senate.

Despite the statistics of how many young citizens do not vote, Government (or Civics) is a class that continually attracts the attention of Darlington students, especially during elections. Still, it can be hard for me to fully articulate to students how political action committees (PACs) work, how public interests become bills and then laws, and what it looks like for someone like Maurie Dugger ('94, LD '14) to do her job. 

 

Maurie, a lobbyist for Aflac, took time out of her busy schedule to Skype with 14 seniors and one junior on Tuesday. In that time she spoke about how she came to be a lobbyist and gave some great advice for our soon-to-be graduates. She encouraged them to find time to search for internships, jobs, and volunteering opportunities that will not only be great résumé builders, but will allow them to gain experience that will help them on choosing a career path. She shared stories of working on different campaigns, including spending time in Florida during the infamous election of 2000 when the country was obsessing over "hanging chads."

 

Maurie gave us a little more insight into the life of a lobbyist for Aflac, talking about how she meets with members of Congress and the kinds of laws that must be followed when doing so.

For me, it was great to hear her positive tone. I think that most of us, including students, hear and read in the news how Congress is dysfunctional and that corruption is rampant. Most often the good things that are happening in Washington are filtered out by the time news gets to us. We all love a good controversy, right?

It is refreshing to hear someone working in the nation's capital who is not jaded. It is encouraging to know that there are good people doing the best they can to make sure this country is a great one. It is even better knowing that at least one of those good people is one of our own.