My story in Durham begins in 2014.....
Like most 18-year-olds in their senior year of high school, I was excited to go college. I set up many campus tours. UNH was the second on the route, but it turned out being my last, because I found this is where I wanted to continue my education. When I arrived my first day freshman year, I felt accepted and welcomed. I also soon knew that I wanted to settle in Durham permanently.
During my Junior year at UNH, I interned for the Democrat Leadership Office in the State Senate, where I saw bills SB3 and HB1264 pushed through the legislative process. These two bills were created expressly to disenfranchise and discourage students from voting. As a student who came from a state that welcomed young voter engagement, I was shocked and insulted. The GOP was saying that someone like me was not invested in New Hampshire and did not have the right to vote here. During my internship, I also saw attacks on reproductive justice, bills for "conversion therapy," gun-related bills passed into law that made our community unsafe.
I respect and admired the men and women who have represented us in Concord. However, I believe it is important for Durham to have a younger person at the table when discussing issues that are very personal to me and my generation. Many of us cannot hope one day be homeowners, because it is just not as affordable a dream as it once was. We have mountains of student loan debt. We will be dealing with the consequences of climate change for our entire lives. For these and similar future-generation-oriented reasons, I decided to run for my first term in 2018. For the past four year I have been serving on the Judiciary Committee. I have also served as Legislative Director as well as the Vice Chairman for the Young Democrats Caucus, and as the Founder and Co-Chairman of the Animal Protection Caucus.
During my Junior year at UNH, I interned for the Democrat Leadership Office in the State Senate, where I saw bills SB3 and HB1264 pushed through the legislative process. These two bills were created expressly to disenfranchise and discourage students from voting. As a student who came from a state that welcomed young voter engagement, I was shocked and insulted. The GOP was saying that someone like me was not invested in New Hampshire and did not have the right to vote here. During my internship, I also saw attacks on reproductive justice, bills for "conversion therapy," gun-related bills passed into law that made our community unsafe.
I respect and admired the men and women who have represented us in Concord. However, I believe it is important for Durham to have a younger person at the table when discussing issues that are very personal to me and my generation. Many of us cannot hope one day be homeowners, because it is just not as affordable a dream as it once was. We have mountains of student loan debt. We will be dealing with the consequences of climate change for our entire lives. For these and similar future-generation-oriented reasons, I decided to run for my first term in 2018. For the past four year I have been serving on the Judiciary Committee. I have also served as Legislative Director as well as the Vice Chairman for the Young Democrats Caucus, and as the Founder and Co-Chairman of the Animal Protection Caucus.
People frequently ask how I have survived while doing this time-consuming job for $100 a year. For the past four years, I have served tables on the weekend, working doubles so I can focus on my legislative obligations during the week. When we were out of session, I worked as many hours as possible to save money for the busy months we were in session, when I inevitably worked less. Now, I am a second-year law student at University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, and am employed at a law firm that is willing to give me the flexibility needed to continue serving Durham. Balancing everything has not always been easy, but it is certainly important and worth it!
I grew up in Avon, Massachusetts but always knew that I wanted to settle somewhere else. Durham is now my home, and I love our community. It would be my honor to continue to serve you.
I grew up in Avon, Massachusetts but always knew that I wanted to settle somewhere else. Durham is now my home, and I love our community. It would be my honor to continue to serve you.