What doesn’t Maggie Cleary do? As I sat down outside Midnight Mug for our interview, Maggie, a junior in the College from Springfield, Va., greeted me enthusiastically. As many of you know, thanks to the posters, door knocking, tabling and more, Maggie is in a fierce campaign for the GUSA vice president position. I was shocked by the amount of hard work, time and dedication the candidates have to put into the GUSA race, but Maggie still has time to participate in the College Academic Council, debate with the Philodemic Society, serve as captain of the Ethics Debate Team, run marathons, intern for Fox News, catch an episode of Girls, AND eat her favorite food, bacon. How Maggie has time for sleep is truly perplexing.
You’re running for GUSA with Jack Appelbaum (COL ’14). How is the campaign going?
Well, three days into it pretty much felt like we we’re already a week into it. The days are extremely long, and it’s a lot of hard work. We table everyday from 11-3 alongside people working on the campaign with us. Everyday there’s a different meeting or event, or tabling in Lau 2 until two in the morning, and it’s exhausting. Some days are so busy, with classes and campaigning, that my only time alone is in the shower, and that shower time is sacred. The tiring part is always having to be in campaign mode, constantly answering questions, smiling, directing people in the campaign what to do. Sometimes, I just want to put on my big headphones on Lau 2 and get work done, but there are questions to answer and problems to be solved, and I realize that it’s part of the campaign and I have to be ready to go consistently. It’s tiring, but well worth the experience.
Besides exhaustion, what’s been the biggest obstacle so far? You’re doing a great job campaigning; I saw the Mean Girls parody the other day, which was hilarious.
Jack was pretty hesitant about the Mean Girls video, but when one of my friends suggested we make a parody, I was all for it. And we’re the only campaign without a Harlem Shake video, so we’re special (laughing). But the biggest obstacle has probably been getting the word out and personally going door-to-door to spread our message. The other day I knocked on every single door in Harbin. Jack and I have gone to almost every single door to spread the word about our campaign and promote our platform.
Last year and continuing into last semester, you were President of Georgetown College Republicans. Do you have any intention of pursuing politics in the future?
College Republicans is great and it’s where I met some of my best friends. It helped me with internships and I attended the Republican convention this year, which was really cool. And in a sense, it also made me smarter, because I constantly needed to be on top of the news and information. As president, I couldn’t have a conversation with someone regarding politics and not know what they were talking about, so it helped me stay informed and on top of everything. I also interned at Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, which was awesome. I learned the whole process of media and became good friends with the people that work there. My job was cool because, besides reading and research, my job was bringing guests into the ready room, so I met a lot of cool people.
Could you see yourself working for Fox News or in the media in the future?
I learned a lot about media through the internship, and it’s a possibility. Right now though, I have my next couple of years planned. I’m hoping to go to law school, because I want to be a prosecutor. Not sure if that will lead to politics, although it usually does. Maybe if I have time in there I’ll try some media and news, because I enjoyed it, but we’ll see where I end up.
Besides College Republicans, what other clubs are you part of at Georgetown?
I’m on the College Academic Council, which proposes reforms to the academic deans. I tried to pass a reform that language classes could be pass/fail, but it didn’t really work out. I’m also in the Philodemic Society, which has debates every Thursday. It’s fun because it has that fraternity feel in the fact that everyone knows each other and we’re all pretty close. You’ve probably never heard of it, but I’m the captain of the Ethics Debate Team, which is pretty small and coached by Philosophy TAs. For the debates, you have to prepare three cases regarding ethical issues and memorize them in order to give a 10-minute case presentation, which you have to do without any notes. I was extremely nervous my first time, but I’ve gotten used to it now.
Wow. So besides those clubs, what else do you do for fun?
I love to run, although I’ve been slacking recently. I ran a marathon last November and I love running in nice weather. Besides that, I’m always down to stay in and have a relaxing night watching Girls or Modern Family.
Lightning Round:
Favorite Movie: Les Misérables or Forrest Gump
Hollywood Crush: Jude Law
Favorite Book: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf or Who Are We by Samuel P. Huntington
Favorite singer: Beyonce, she’s a perfect diva
Georgetown Cupcakes, Sprinkles or Baked & Wired: Baked & Wired, definitely.