Name: Elysse Vernon
Year: Freshman
Hometown: Longwood, Fla.
Major: Public Relations (with a minor in Political Science)
Her Campus (HC): Elysse, you spent a good part of last year campaigning for 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and now you’re on the campaign team for gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum. How did you first get involved in this and what does your involvement entail?
Elysse Vernon (EV): I actually have no idea. I’ve always been politically vocal, but one Friday afternoon, I got a phone call from someone on the local campaign team (who would later be sort of like my boss), telling me to come down to their fellowship training event to kick off the fall campaign season. They had my information and résumé, so I must have applied to be a campaign “fellow” (a less glamourous intern, just a step above a volunteer) at some point and forgotten about it. I immediately sold the football tickets I had for that day and spent my sunny Saturday morning fighting the good fight; no regrets. I would spend about 12 hours per week on campus registering people to vote (yes, I was one of those people). Once the registration deadline passed, I made phone calls, went door-to-door and manned a tent on campus that passed out information and posters. I met some truly amazing people during that campaign that I’m excited to get back on the grind with for Mayor Gillum’s gubernatorial run. Right now, I’m simply a volunteer, but as the campaign progresses, I’m hoping to take on more responsibility. This guy is the candidate of a lifetime. I want all Floridians to hear what he has to say and know that even in our current political climate, we can make things better.
HC: How has your time spent campaigning influenced your career goals?
EV: I never want to stop! I used to have ideas of what I wanted to do from binge-watching The West Wing and keeping up with the Obama administration, but being able to stretch my legs and test the waters of political engagement has provided me with such a sense of purpose and an urge for justice I just can’t shake. It made me realize that I wanted to change my minor, so that I could take more political classes; ones that I would actually be excited about. Fake news isn’t a thing, but misinformation is. I know I want to be on the communications team of a political body; be it a department or a representative. I want to write speeches, press releases, interact with the media, address the public; basically give the country the kind of honest transparency we owe them right now.
HC: You’re also the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) for the Quincy division of the popular millennial media outlet, The Odyssey. How has balancing this job with your school and campaigning shaped you? Do you have any advice you would offer to hopeful future journalists or Odyssey writers?
EV: It has definitely tested my time management skills. The combination of classes, a part-time job, campaigning and being EIC has transformed me into a morning person. I find that I’m the most focused when I’m out of my home environment. I’ll go to the library, find a coffee shop, hang out under a tree (anywhere that’s bright really) and get as much work done as possible. I often find that these two worlds merge. The Odyssey provides a lot of creative freedom, so I often find myself writing about politics. I try to stick to the satirical. I know I’m not a CNN correspondent breaking any major story, I’m just trying to find humor wherever I can and spread it to those who need a good laugh.
HC: So your position has allowed you to incorporate a more creative aspect in combination with your political passions?
EV: With this creative freedom, I’ve also become much more conscious of the content I create. I only put out what I am proud of and what I think will actually benefit people; nothing malicious or grossly under-researched (no alternative facts here). Coupling those things, my advice to any curious writers would be: take what you know, or what’s in the news right now, and add a unique perspective. That Wall Street Journal piece you read was probably written by an older white man, so how do you as a millennial/woman/person of color/person with disabilities/person of a different socioeconomic status see it differently? In my case, how can you make it funny? How can you break it down in a way so that college students may actually take interest in impactful world events? With that said, be careful what you say. As we’ve all learned from the previous election cycle: Free speech does not equal hate speech.
HC: Any parting advice for those aspiring to a field in politics or journalism?
EV: Future journalists, do not be disheartened! The field is not crumbling; we need you now more than ever.