Long Distance Advocate: Never Too Far to Make a Difference

Posted on July 10, 2015

Long Distance Advocate: Never Too Far to Make a Difference

Jen is pictured on the far left. She is accompanied by (left to right) Abigail Hamilton, Representative Susan Brooks, and James MacGregor. 

By Jen Nguyen

Being over 2,000 miles away from home, surrounded by total strangers, and attending hours of training sounds absolutely terrifying. While that was exactly what the GCE-US Youth Advocacy Training entailed, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this experience. I was able to learn so much from representatives of the non-profit and public sectors, as well as my own co-trainees; every individual I met in this program had so much to share, from their unique perspective to their wealth of knowledge. It was with honor that I was able to use this learned information to speak to our congressmen and congresswomen about why they should commit to global education. 

Of course, being on Capitol Hill was nerve-wracking. Just a few days prior, I had absolutely no experience in speaking with our representatives. But with the skills I learned through the training, I was able to speak to my district representative's office, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez of California's 46th district. I resonated with our shared passion for early childhood education, and the priceless results of investing in education. Throughout the day, my team members, Abigail and James, and I were able to advocate for education for all to three separate Representatives' offices across the United States. Indiana's 5th district Representative Susan Brooks was incredibly receptive, especially noting the relationship between education and security. Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio's 13th district shared our enthusiasm for the financial aspect. As a constituent, I truly felt like my voice was being heard and my perspective be taken seriously. Since universal education carries so much significance, our duty as advocates is to spread the message of equitable education for all communities.

We all, including coalition member representatives, ended the night with the launch of the International Basic Education Caucus with Representatives Quigley and Reichert, respectively of Illinois's 5th district and Washington's 8th district. This caucus is intended to foster Congressional support for international basic education programs. Seeing all of the caucus supporters cemented my belief that people across diverse disciplines can unite for the same thing: global education. Although we all come from separate walks of life, we all acknowledge the necessity of educational opportunities worldwide. And I can't wait to be able to continue my advocacy in California, using all of the tools I've learned from my peers and mentors in this program. I am so appreciative and grateful for GCE-US endowing me with this opportunity, and I hope we can all join together in this initiative to provide education for all.

 

Jen is a senior at the University of California, Davis in Davis, California studying Psychology. She is an alumni participant of the Summer 2015 Youth Advocacy Training. 



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