The topic of immigration is personal for me. My mom is half French, half Italian and my sister is engaged to a Brazilian.
Last year was my first time on Capitol Hill. It was just a monolithic, intimidating thing in my mind. But now having been there, it seems more like a real place. Being there normalized it for me. Now I’m leading others because I feel comfortable with it all.
I don’t necessarily think that I can change anything by talking to our political representatives, but having young, proactive people in the Congressional offices is an important reminder to them. It humanizes the issues and forces them to remember that there are people beyond Capitol Hill who are engaged and interested in issues.
I’m happy to be back this year. Spring Lobby Weekend last year made this whole world of politics approachable for me.
Benjamin is originally from Morgantown, WV and attends Roanoke College. Benjamin attended Spring Lobby Weekend for the second time in 2018 and came with 20 Roanoke College classmates.