Experience
- Rincon-University High School Chapter Secretary (May-Dec 2016)
- My JSA journey started 2 years ago, in March of 2016 (my freshman year) when I attended my first chapter meeting. Shy and nervous, I didn’t know what to expect. I was intimidated by the knowledge shared by everyone around me that meeting, but after leaving it, I knew that this was the type of club I truly wanted to dedicate myself to. I attending Spring Congress 2016, the most life-shifting weekend I’ve been to my entire life. The culture was so accepting and respectful and set great examples for the world. Truly inspired, I ran for Chapter Secretary at the last minute. I have never regret that decision since. I won, and for the 1st semester of my sophomore year, I was my chapter's secretary. I was tasked with note-taking during meetings, and participation in all chapter events.
- Rincon-University High School Chapter President (Dec 2016-May 2017)
- After a vacancy in the position of Chapter President occurred at the end of that semester, I felt as though I had the experience and the credentials to hold the position. I also had the passion, which has only ever grown since then. I ran for Chapter President, and did succeed in attaining that position. My new role in the chapter has brought challenges I was willing to take, as well as a very consistently large and successful chapter that we were able to bring to Spring Congress for only $15 a piece. Our debates were exciting and engaging, and gave students a place to call home for 1 hour after school on Thursdays.
- Arizona Institute Graduate (June 2017)
- I made myself a goal to attend JSAZ's Arizona Institute in the month of June. I applied to go, and also applied to get a financial need-based scholarship. The institute costed $275, and my partial scholarship only helped with $100. I was discouraged, but through my hard work and dedication, I was able to fundraise the remaining $175 through an outside donor for me to attend. Those 4 days helped me grow connections with so many people in JSA, and also learned so much more about the process of JSA and the process of Arizona politics.
- Arizona Director of Activism (July 2017-Present)
- While at Arizona Institute, I had my Cabinet interview conducted for the Activism Director. I was inspired to do that after attending Spring Congress 2017, where I was a Committee Clerk, helping logistically when it comes to running the debates and the passage of information across the 2 chambers. Doing that gave me a glimpse in the work that JSA is doing at the state level, which is what I decided I wanted to spend my time working on. Activism is something I have plenty of experience and understanding on; I have worked on political campaigns as an intern and so outreach and public relations is something I'm very knowledgeable on. During my time as Activism Director, I worked nationally with all the Activism Directors across the states when it comes to the execution of the Junior Statesmen Salute (JSS) and with Fight Apathy. I have also worked with other members of Cabinet to set in the groundwork for potential campaigns based on seeing past someone's political views to see who they are as a person, and create an energy of understanding and respect that JSA bases itself on.
Platform
Council of Chapter Presidents
As a former Chapter President, I understand the need that Chapter Presidents have to receive information clearly and with ease. That is why I am advocating for a continuation of frequent meetings of the Council of Chapter Presidents, because being able to work with other presidents helps with a better understanding of issues faced in that role, and create more stability with chapters overall.
Debate
The Junior State of America would be nothing without its main attraction, a chance for students to learn about and debate political issues. I am a very politically active person, and throughout my experience within my chapter and at every convention that has happened since I had joined JSA, I take notice in what truly brings JSA students happiness. It's our ability to fight apathy by encouraging discussion and debate, effectively leading to civic engagement. If elected, I will work with the Debate Department to determine topics that will engage our students, and help them become more active and educated members of the Arizona populus. This includes my advocacy for a monthly debate topic as a suggestion for chapter meetings, which will introduce them to the type of aura that JSAZ wants to give off.
Activism
Activism is the nearest and dearest to my heart, and is evidence to show how hard I want to work to offer Arizona's youth the best experience for those who are interested in becoming politically active. Under my leadership of the Activism department, we were able to bring one of the most diverse fairs to Fall State, and anticipate something similar to that at Spring Congress. I also took the extra step to book veterans to speak as part of our Junior Statesmen Salute (JSS), which was a very emotional time for many students. Seeing how engaged and fascinated our students were hearing those speakers makes the job worth it. This is why I will try to ensure that Activism campaigns will be fulfilled to the best of their ability, and allow for creativity within the department, to solidify our willingness to cooperate on the national scale.
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CIA
The stability of our state is what keeps students engaged and aware in JSA, and being able to make certain that the chapters are functioning to the best of their ability is essential to the JSA experience. As Lieutenant Governor, I will do everything in my abilities to aid CIA when necessary, by working with the director, and ensuring that Presidents are capable of providing engaging content to their members allowing for more outreach across their schools. A stable chapter is one that students would find strong interest in joining, and that could lead to the development of our strong future leaders.
Expansion
Expansion is what gets me truly passionate about JSA. Being able to ensure what I believe is the right of all Arizona students to be exposed to the wonderful world of the Junior State of America is vital to my role as an avid JSA participant. I will be working very closely with the Expansion Department when it comes to networking, ensuring the dissemination of information to prospective chapters, and a smooth transition from Expansion to CIA.
Fundraising
Fundraising is a crucial part of my ideology that is the right of every student to go through the JSA experience. This includes the accessibility financially. The foundation of any organization is fundraising, and so I would advocate for a growth of the Fundraising Department to incorporate more agents as well as outreach with other organizations in order to work with them to fundraise. Coming from a background where funds for school are extremely limited, this issue is especially important to me personally and is important to many JSAers who love the organization but don't want their family's financial situation to restrict that.
Conventions
My passion for convention is one that is indescribable. Leaving a convention more content with our future and more informed as a citizen is an emotion that occurs consistently. I was a member of this past Fall State's Precon team, and so my clear understanding on the logistics of preparing and executing a successful convention shows how willing and able I am to work closely with the Convention Coordinator to ensure a smooth convention, giving students the most enjoyable and optimal convention experience.
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