HPHS Senior Finds Learning Opportunities in 2020 Election
Margaret Anne Hurley interned for Genevieve Collins’ congressional campaign
Historically, young Americans have tended toward less political involvement than older generations seen consistently at the polls.
However, many of today’s teens, though perhaps not able to vote, are becoming politically engaged. That includes Highland Park High School senior Margaret Anne Hurley, who began interning for Republican congressional hopeful Genevieve Collins’ campaign in September.
“I think that this year specifically, politics is such a controversial subject, and I think to have the opportunity to go behind the scenes of it all is really interesting.”
Margaret Anne Hurley
While her candidate didn’t unseat incumbent Democrat Colin Allred for Texas’ 32nd congressional seat, Hurley said she learned plenty.
As an intern, she completed various tasks, ranging from building signs and dropping off checks to picking up packages from the post office.
She also assisted executive members of the campaign with press releases and other larger assignments.
One of her primary duties, though, was connecting with potential voters via phone calls and texts to learn about their political concerns and possibly sway their vote towards the campaign.
“That was one of my favorite things about the campaign; I just did what needed to be done, so there was a lot of room to grow and improve,” Hurley said. “I’ve learned that everyone is so valued and has a specific set of skills that makes them an important part of the campaign process.”
Hurley said she further developed critical thinking skills when it comes to politics because of the campaign’s goals. The idea was not only to win but to learn from past policies to improve upon them, thus making better decisions for the future.
Additionally, watching the news while having an insight into what is occurring behind the scenes has allowed her to take away a different perspective and formulate her own opinion on current issues.
“While it seems like politics is accomplished on such a grand scale, what I’ve learned is that every vote counts,” Hurley said. “The campaign really values teaching people what they believe in because each individual vote is so important and because they care about each person’s specific concerns.”
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