My first trip to Washington D.C. came on the tail end of a very long family vacation. The opportunity to stop in our nation’s capital was one my parents did not want to miss. During that family vacation, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate D.C. and all its glory. Fortunately, another opportunity to experience D.C. presented itself in February of 2009, my first year at Unity. I attended the Powershift conference with a group of students from Unity. When we left Maine for D.C., I thought I had signed on for a fun weekend in Washington. Little did I know, this trip would have a lasting effect on me. Attending Powershift 2009 was very different from that first trip I took with my family all those years ago. I was now one of 10,000 young people on a mission. A bi-annual conference, Powershift focuses on shifting the energy power the U.S. uses from dirty sources (oil, coal, etc.) to clean energy sources. Over the course of this three-day conference, I attended workshops and participated in power building exercises and community activist training. Armed with a newly acquired environmental activist toolkit, we participated in a rally in front of the White House, a march on Capitol Hill and lobbied for change in how we as Americans provide energy to run this country. It was a rush of emotions as I realized what we as students and young people can do to bring change. I realized how important citizen and student activism is, and how much I wanted to become engaged in this work. When I returned to Unity I was full of energy and excitement. My goal was to get more involved in environmental activism. However, it was easy to fall back into old routines of going to classes, hanging with friends, and being involved in college life. It took me another year to grasp the idea that time to create actual change is running out, and I should be dedicating large amounts of time to environmental activism. In the spring of 2010, a year after the conference, I had another opportunity to take part in activism through Professor of Environmental Policy Nancy Ross’s State and Local Government class. We attended the “Day of Action” with the group Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine, spending the entire day at the state house in Augusta. In the morning, we learned how to effectively lobby for a
cause, and during the afternoon we lobbied our elected area representative. During our meeting with Maine Representative John Piotti, our class discussed the three bills we were lobbying for, and then sat in a legislative committee room for another discussion with a legislative researcher. We were making a difference by spending time learning the process. After this trip, I really understood the concept of “running out of time” to make effective and judicious change. I refocused my efforts. From January to May of 2011, I was back in Washington, D.C. for an internship on Capitol Hill. Coming full circle to my first days of activism at Powershift 2009, being back in Washington felt right, despite my insecurities about living in the city and performing in this new position. While working on Capitol Hill, I learned that a lot more citizens lobbied and took part in activism than I previously thought. It is my view that when people think of lobbying they have a negative opinion because of the reputation of lobbyists and the role of K Street organizations that facilitate backroom political discussions. Although my first try at lobbying was as part of a group of students from Maine, and although that day on Capitol Hill opened my eyes to the positive results of citizen lobbying, it wasn’t until I worked on the Hill that I learned the true effectiveness of activism. As a part of my academic requirement during the internship, I had to complete a public policy dialogue with an elected member of Congress. The purpose of this dialogue was not meant to be a lobby session. In my only congressional visit experience thus far, I was able to sit and have an in-depth, oneon-one conversation with Representative Michael Michaud, from Maine’s 2nd District about environmental issues and policy, as well as the budget crisis of February 2011. The discussion with Representative Michaud was exhilarating and exciting, and had the same effect on me as participating in the activist projects through Unity. The experience revitalized me, solidifying that deep-seeded want to continue my activism work. In April of 2011, just before my Washington semester ended, a group of students from Unity attended Powershift 2011. Again I was given the wonderful opportunity to attend the conference that, in 2009, helped shape the activist passion that I carried forth both as a student at Unity and in my personal
“It is my view that when people think of lobbying they have a negative opinion because of the reputation of lobbyists and the role of K Street organizations that facilitate backroom political discussions. Although my first try at lobbying was as part of a group of students from Maine, and although that day on Capitol Hill opened my eyes to the positive results of citizen lobbying, it wasn’t until I worked on the Hill that I learned the true effectiveness of activism.” A my K ennedy ‘12 30
| UNITY SUMMER 2012