National Legislative Conference: A Student’s Perspective

Politics has always been a fascination of mine. The ins and outs of how the government works and how it affects everything is very interesting.

In February 2025, I attended the ACCT National Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., with BHC President Dr. Jeremy Thomas, Chairman Fritz Larsen and Associate Vice President Kim Goodley.

In two days, I got to attend two speaker events and a student workshop, visit with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s staff, meet with U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, and attend a meeting with Sen. Durbin and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth.

While I am unsure if politics will be the focus of my college education, this experience was invaluable even without the political factor.

The experience overall was wonderful and informative about how community colleges operate and some of the issues they face today. I had chances to network with many college executives and other students. All the speakers explained their points well and were knowledgeable about the topics they covered. The college executives and other individuals never made me feel out of place and were more than happy to answer any questions or concerns I had.

The most interesting thing that I attended was the student workshop. Multiple speakers informed all the students how to properly advocate, what they should advocate for in higher education, and how they could look into working on Capitol Hill. I networked with students from colleges across the country, and everyone was more than willing to discuss what we had learned and struggled with at the conference. I made lifelong friends and associates from this experience. This event helped me gain more knowledge and confidence in advocating for myself and other students within higher education and with government officials.

This experience will be very useful in my future, no matter what field of work I go into. I got to experience my first plane ride, my first time in Washington, D.C., and my first conference with thousands of other people attending.

In all honesty, I never expected to get a chance to experience something like this. I am still amazed at all that I got to do. I was able to meet with senators, representatives and college executives. I am still a bit starstruck at getting to talk to Eric Sorensen. I never imagined I would get a chance to talk to a U.S. representative. I got to be in the same room as two senators. I rode in the same Uber as our college president. It all felt surreal at the time and still does.

I am extremely grateful to the college, and more specifically, the college Board of Trustees, for giving me this opportunity to learn and grow as a person and getting to experience something many other students have not.