出于对社区倡导的热情，24岁的艾比·尼克(Abby Nick)担任了“出去投票”协调员 Hartford Votes Coalition leading up to the 2023 municipal election on November 7.
Nick has been working since May with the Hartford Votes Coalition, 这是一个无党派组织，其使命是提高哈特福德市选民的参与度.
“我从这个当地的机会中学到了很多东西，”来自马萨诸塞州佩佩ell的尼克说. “Municipal elections and local nonprofits are so important. 我想鼓励博彩平台网址大全的其他学生看看他们可以找到的这些职位，并向哈特福德社区学习.”
Read more about Nick’s experience:
你是如何得到哈特福德投票联盟“动员投票”协调员的职位的?
I started as their youth intern in May, 当时我被政治学助理教授推荐担任这个职位 Dang Do, who is involved with the coalition. I did that for a month. 然后他们得到了哈特福德公共捐赠基金会的资助, 他们在找一名拨款协调员，我被聘为合同工. This grant cycle wraps up at the end of the semester. After the election, 我们将评估我们的进展，并撰写一份博彩平台网址大全所产生的影响的拨款报告，并为2024年的周期提出调整建议. 我希望在那之后能以某种方式继续参与这个组织.
Why is voter engagement work important to you?
我认为，成为博彩平台网址大全社区的一员，最重要的一点就是成为哈特福德社区的一员. 这对我在这里的这些年意义重大，无论是在校外还是在校内. I’ve worked with local nonprofits, mostly doing lobbying and advocacy work through my internships, and I wanted to get more directly involved with public engagement. 我对这个职位很感兴趣，因为哈特福德的选民投票率很低, especially in Frog Hollow and other neighborhoods around Trinity. 我认为确保每个人都有平等的投票和选民教育机会是非常重要的. 我也和哈特福德的大学生一起做了很多工作——包括博彩平台网址大全的学生——就像一个以青年为基础的论坛, targeted PSAs, and material geared toward young people. 在全国和康涅狄格州，18至27岁年龄组的投票率最低.
What are your goals in this position?
Long-term, I want to see an increase in voters at the general election. But how I measure success is through daily engagement with the community. 我参加过许多不同学位的候选人活动，包括在博彩平台网址大全校园举行的一次活动. The turnout at most of these events has been strong. We try to reach different populations, 确保活动在哈特福德的不同社区举行，确保我们与社区的不同部分进行接触. 确保每个人都有平等的机会参加这些活动对我来说是最重要的.
What have been some of your best experiences in this job?
Something that’s meant the most to me is our ‘Get Out the Vote’ convenings. We had one just about every month in the summer. 我们召集了来自哈特福德地区12个不同的非营利组织的领导人，他们专注于公民参与工作, 我们合作并讨论了如何改进我们的工作和相互学习. 我们都关注不同的人群，但我们都在朝着相似的目标努力. These were inspirational events for me, 尤其是作为一名希望在5月份毕业后在非营利机构工作的学生. 能有这么多机会和这个领域的人交流真是太棒了.
你在哈特福德投票联盟的工作与你在博彩平台网址大全的学习有什么联系? Nick is double-majoring in human rights and political science, with minors in community action and philosophy.
It’s helpful in enhancing my political science education. I’ve studied many aspects of federal and state government, so now it’s interesting to work at the municipal level. I’ve taken classes on lobbying, elections, statistics, and data. Now when receiving data on voting in Hartford, 我可以用它来调整我们的策略，博彩平台网址大全的接触对象，以及我们在哪里提供更多的注册服务. 这就是把我在课堂上学到的东西应用到现实世界中. With my minor of community action, I was in the Community Action Gateway 作为一名大一学生，我开始与哈特福德社区互动. 它教会了我如何有效地研究和参与社区合作伙伴, and that’s really helped me with this work. I hope to participate in Trinity’s Legislative Internship Program at the Connecticut State Capitol in the spring, and I’d be very excited to see how these two experiences differ.
How does this work fit in with your plans for after Trinity?
I’m taking the LSAT this spring, 但我计划在上法学院之前花一两年的时间在非营利机构工作，或者在公益公司做律师助理. After that, I plan to pursue a law degree, which I hope to use to work in social work or human rights advocacy law. I’ve always had a passion for this. 其实我找到博彩平台网址大全是因为我想攻读人权学位, and Trinity was the first liberal arts college in the country to have a human rights program. I’ve always been interested in community work; as a kid, 我在社区服务组织做志愿者，还在女童子军中获得了金奖. 我对我在世界上看到的不公正现象充满热情，并通过成为我所在社区的倡导者来帮助不同的人群. I was raised with a deep respect for the value of education. I know not everyone can afford an education, 所以我一直想获得一个学位，这样我就可以用来帮助那些可能不那么幸运的人.
你对博彩平台网址大全的学生在市级选举中有什么建议吗?
确保你知道你的地方选举是什么时候，选票上有哪些候选人和问题. 如果你是博彩平台网址大全注册在家投票的学生，请申请缺席投票. I get mine mailed to my campus mail box. 我把它填好，寄回马萨诸塞州的家乡，我从来没有错过任何一次选举. It’s easy to do. Municipal elections, in my mind, matter so much more than national elections, 但它们通常是人们不去想或者认为不重要的. 在这些地方选举中，你的声音和你的选票具有更高的价值. 这些选举的结果将直接影响到你们, like funding for schools, roads, and parks. 影响你日常生活的举措是由我们的市政领导决定的. There’s a narrative, especially in my generation, of people not voting because they don’t think their vote matters. It does. 我们这一代人有很多话要说，我们想要在这个世界上做出很多重要的改变. The first way to do that is by voting. 我认为，如果我们整个年龄段的人都出去投票，我们将产生巨大的影响. Make sure you’re voting and make sure that your voice matters.
For more information about voter registration in Connecticut, click here.
