Ever since 2012, American University has chosen a “Wonk of the Year”. According to AU’s website, the award goes to “a well-known individual who represents the embodiment of a wonk– someone smart, passionate, focused and engaged who uses their knowledge and influence to create meaningful change in the world”. This “power ranking” ranks past WONKS on the effectiveness of their AU speeches and how closely they adhere to the traits described above. Please note that these rankings are my opinion.
1. Malala Yousafzai
Huge win for Malala Yousafazi. News that she was 2017 Wonk of the Year shook AU’s student body, inspiring a Hunger Games style fight to the death for tickets. Her words did not disappoint.Taking into account the current (often Islamaphobic) political climate she urged Muslim Americans to unite.
2. Anderson Cooper
Despite Anderson Cooper winning back in 2013, his words prove eerily prescient in 2017, securing him second place. On holding public officials accountable Cooper said “There’s nothing more satisfying in an interview when you’re armed with facts, and you know somebody has stated something that is not a fact… All you have to do is stick to that one question, and watch them kind of dance around it”.
3. Donna Brazile
In third place, 2016 awardee political strategist Donna Brazile. Brazile scored well for her positivity in a rough political climate, calling it “a wonderful period of time for those of you who love politics”.
4. Laura Bush
In fourth, former First Lady Laura Bush in 2015. Bush clearly fulfilled the “passionate” requirement, but was somewhat less relateable to her AU audience as she did not speak to the political climate, or politics much at all. Extolling the power of literacy in education she said “I believe that literacy is an essential foundation for democracy”.
5. Bill Clinton
Last, but never least, inaugural wonk former President Bill Clinton. While a true wonk, Clinton was simply put at a disadvantage by being the inaugural awardee and therefore having many other (potentially more) worthy wonks come after. He still did well, on problem-solving declaring that “in the real world what works is cooperation and networking”.
Ultimately each wonk had some wise words for their AU audience and brought their unique experiences to the stage.
Photo Credit: Cover, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5