Political Conventions

Although I really never planned on attending a Democratic or Republican national convention, I'm glad I had the opportunity to attend both earlier this month. My firm, Lesic & Camper Communications, is working on an issue education campaign called the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, which is aimed at educating policymakers, elected officials and health care stakeholders about the need for better prevention and management of chronic diseases in our health care system. Because chronic diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and others, account for 75 percent of our health care costs.

So my boss and I went out to Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul with the Ohio delegations of each party to help spread the word. We were able to have breakfast speakers at both Ohio delegations' events, and delegates received PFCD t-shirts, pedometers and brochures. It was pretty cool to see some of the delegates actually walking around with the pedometers!

But enough about work. These trips were fun too. I was able to see speeches by Hillary Clinton and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner at the DNC Convention, and Fred Thompson at the RNC Convention. I also caught glimpses of celebrities like Ashley Judd, Chevy Chase, Aisha Tyler, Cyndi Lauper and Jon Voight.

However, my favorite part was meeting Luke Russert in Denver. As you may know, he was covering the youth vote at both conventions for NBC. I was even hoping to meet him before I went out there, and I just happened to see him outside of our hotel. So I asked if he'd take a picture with me, and he graciously agreed.

Sometimes working in public affairs may not sound like the most exciting option as a student, but I certainly have valued some of the opportunities I've had this fall.