This summer I had the amazing opportunity to attend the American Politics Academy at Georgetown. As someone deeply interested in political science, this experience was life-changing. This was my first time with a political science education program which made the experience all the more unique. That combined with the beautiful setting of Georgetown’s campus and Washington D.C. made the experience truly unforgettable.
I first applied to the American Politics Academy in April. My intention was to gain an academically stronger foundation in political science close to the heart of it all: Washington D.C., specifically Capitol Hill. Little did I know how much my love of political science would grow.
When I first received the schedule, the nine-to-nine felt daunting and to some extent even unnecessary. That all changed on my first day of the program when I saw just how in-depth we went. Over the course of the entire week we covered everything. First Dr. Andrea Mayer, the program supervisor, gave us a deep look into the basics of American Politics, covering everything from institutions to elections to political behavior. We took a deep look at the mechanisms that cause Duverger’s system, the interconnectedness of the branches of government, and modern-day trends, including political polarization.
Less than 30 minutes later and we were back, this time with Dr. John Rackey who took us deeper into institutions, covering Congress and all its nuances and issues. Then a quick dinner and Capstone and off to bed. This jam-packed schedule went on daily (with the exception of Tuesday and Thursday) covering a broad range of topics. We began by covering the basics of the Federal Budget, deficits, debts, and even a brief attempt at the simulation Fiscal Ship with Dr. Louise Sheiner Next, we transitioned onto the basics of American Politics and Culture This led us into a deep dive with Dr. Eric Langenbacher on the rise of MAGA, restratification, and the ‘9 Nations of America’ and each of their qualities and traits– All hail Ecotopia! (West Coast)–,all before lunch. Then a double deeply engaging session with Dr. Sean Arthurs as we covered political engagement in the form of protest power through concepts like the spectrum of support, radical flank effect (the more radical ideas make the moderate ones more acceptable), and the theory of change that states success factors of a movement. We ended the session with a breakout room discussion where we had to pick and choose which rights were most important to us. Then dinner and capstone.
Friday was a similar schedule. We started with Political Behavior and Public Opinion with Dr. Mark Hines where we covered the basics of polls, voting trends, bias, and restratification. A short 15-minute break and then we met with Sana Ajeena, a Capitol Hill staffer. to discuss different career paths in American politics. Finally, our last lecture on SCOTUS, where we covered judicial review, the structure of the judicial system, and the basics of Constitutional law with Dr. Joseph Hartman.
Tuesdays and Thursdays were field trip days. Tuesday, we had the amazing opportunity to visit Capitol Hill where we actually got to witness the House in action. It was truly amazing to not only see the room where it all happened, but also watch it all unfold as the representatives voted on bills. We ended with a trip to the Georgetown Law Center where we met with Caitlin Johnson and Maddie Mitchell, Georgetown alumnae who now work on Capitol Hill for Representative Kiggins of Virginia. Thursday, we took a brief visit to the White House Visitors Center and ended the excursion with the National Museum of American History, where we focused on the roots of our nation.
The most defining experience of the whole program was Capstone with Dr. Elliott Fullmer. Each day, we would start with a different topic: the electoral college, federal elections, primary elections, PACs, and interest groups. We would talk about this topic at length until we had a strong foundation in it. Then came the debates. We would be split up into different groups where we would congregate and debate our way through many challenges. In our groups, we came up with solutions to the electoral college and ways to streamline primary elections. Towards the end of the week, we participated in a three-day simulation. Thursday, we came up with our issues and formed different PACs based on our beliefs. Friday, we held elections with two randomly selected candidates, where we would convince them to endorse our PAC for our vote. My teammates and I decided to tackle the civic engagement problem by creating a youth-focused civic education initiative. Then, Saturday, we came together as a mock-Congress and tackled the Federal Budget, all while adhering to our assigned committee’s agendas and our President’s beliefs. I was elected by my peers to the National Defense Committee, where I defended current national defense programs, such as the border wall, to the rest of our House. Finally, we settled on a bill, which was fortunately promptly approved by our President, and our bill was put into place.
I will forever remember this experience because of the impact it had on my life. It revealed just how deep my passion for political science runs, proving that I loved eating, sleeping, and breathing the subject for an entire week. Living in the dorms with a roommate on the other side of the country and coffee, boba, and chick-fil-a runs with friends gave me a glimpse into college life and a sneak peek of what my world will look like in two years. It was an incredibly rewarding, life-changing program that I am so fortunate to have experienced. Go Bulldogs!