2008 Woodie Awards
Legally Blonde: Chrissy Goes to Washington
Chrissy Cardinell
Issue date: 4/29/05 Section: Life & Times
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I have recently returned from Washington, D.C., concluding my year as a Presidential Fellow through the Center for the Study of the Presidency. The CSP is a non-partisan and non-profit organization that strives to further the education and understanding of the American Presidency. As part of this mission, the Center seeks to inspire and empower rising political leaders through their Presidential Fellows program.
The program invites a student from Rollins along with 60 other top academic institutions in the country to engage in a two part interactive conference in D.C.
Some other participating schools include Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Vanderbilt, and WestPoint. Throughout the school year, each Fellow is paired with a mentor from the greater Washington, D.C. community-who assists and inspires us towards an extensive research paper we are to have completed for publication at the conclusion of the program.
During a fall conference and another in the spring, we, as Fellows, took part in a series of panel discussions, debates, and presentations surrounding prevalent issues to the Presidency today such as dealing with Wedge issues in democracy, old and new media coverage on the presidency, and the American character and government. The topic of this year's conference was "Celebrating Civility and Inclusive Leadership."
Just a few of the great minds who lead our conversations were Senator Lamar Alexander, Ambassador Max Kampelman, Alexis Simendingun of the National Journal, Al Felzenberg from the 9/11 Commission Discourse Project, and Joe Leconte of the Heritage Foundation.
Through my experience as a Fellow, I was able to consider new issues and dilemmas that face modern politics from a multitude of perspectives ranging from the far Left, the far Right, and everything in between. The conference really encouraged us to stand our own ground, speak our minds, and form our own opinions.
In the end though, regardless of the jokes and slander that come with any heated political conversation, a clear message resonated among us challenging division, advocating unity, and honoring true commitment to public service across the board. This opportunity has not only given me the chance to mingle among amazing politics students from schools all around the country, it also provided me with many professional contacts, should I pursue prospective political avenues in my future.
If you may be interested in participating next year, feel free to contact cmeixner@rollins.edu.