The midterms have come and past, LMC student Mianya Thomas got her first hand experience in politics working for the Jerry Mcnerney campaign.

Thomas grew up in a household that never had much of an interest in politics. So as she grew up she didn’t know the importance of voting or what the impact elections could have on a community. Her family briefly had interest in the election of President Barack Obama but later lost interest in the electoral process.

“My parents are like the ones who just came out to vote when Obama was running,” Thomas admitted.

It wasn’t until she became invested in social media that she began to expand her world view.

“When I was introduced to social media, it showed me what was going on in the world,” said Thomas.

With all of this newfound information from social media it negatively influenced her perspective on politics. She came to believe the government was “corrupt” and that her vote didn’t actually matter. However, this pessimistic thinking made a complete 360 when a friend gave her the experience campaigning and politics from the inside.

“When she had told me about the position it kinda made me want to get involved due to the fact that I didn’t know much about politics,” Thomas said.

Like many millenials, Thomas was receiving her information from the Internet, but didn’t have any real life experiences to validate what she had seen. So when got the chance to be involved and learned something new she didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.

Taking on the role of a team leader, she came across difficulties with some of her staff members. This was the first time this particular campaign had young adults working it so the bar that was set for seriousness was low.

“They didn’t take the job too seriously compared to how adults would take it,” Thomas said.

To overcome this situation the young staffer was sure to “ set by example” so the young adults could see how she was handling situations and follow her lead.

“I wanted them to look at me and say, ‘If she is my age and can do it, then so can I,’” she said.

While working for the campaign, she learned the significance of voting and civic engagement and why it’s so important for everyone to participate in, especially young adults. Every day she saw the ways voting could impact lives and the future people of her generation will inherit.

“Every vote counts, and every vote matters, especially if it will affect our future,” she said.

Overall her experience working for the campaign has been an eye-opening for her and has made a significant mark on her world view.

“I actually learned about politics and had the opportunity to get others involved who were never interested,” she said.

Thomas doesn’t see a future in politics for herself, but instead hopes to work in the medical field. Though we may not have a future politician on our hands, we may have a doctor or a nurse who will continue to push the younger generation to go vote and make a difference.