A show of hands
Raise your hand if you think that this political season has been one of the most strangely interesting ones that you’ve seen in a very long time. Whether you are a Republican, Democrat or an independent—and no matter what your political views are—this likely is the one thing that we can all agree upon.
Of course, the political arena is always a challenging place to be. In this issue of the magazine, we feature a student and two alums who have taken on the challenge and placed themselves right in the center of the action in varied ways.
Joshua Kelly ’17 didn’t feel that the two major political parties were addressing the issues that are important to him, so he and a friend helped to create a chapter of the Green Party in their hometown in Connecticut—and he then ran for election to his local zoning board of appeals. Judith Garcia ’13 decided she would be the change she wanted to see in Chelsea, Mass., and ran for office. She now serves on the city council.
And on the national stage, there is Neil Levesque ’93. He is the executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, where the candidates for president have sparred during many debates over the past several months. We profile him in this issue and look at how he ended up leading one of the most important political venues in any and every presidential election. We also have a story about Alex Butcher-Nesbitt ’15, whose internship at the White House after graduation provided him with valuable experience and led him to his most recent job working with the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Our cover story delves into familiar territory—student-faculty collaboration. At Wheaton, students not only learn from faculty members as they take courses, they also work alongside them on research and many other varied projects, gaining knowledge and experience in labs and libraries and out in the field. Faculty members say they deeply value these partnerships. Read about all the magic.