Students in front of the General Assembly Building.

Bright and early one recent morning, students from Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale campus loaded onto a bus headed to Richmond, home of the Virginia Senate. Nervous, yet full of excitement, these students were able to dip their toes into politics and get a first-hand look at what really happens behind the scenes.

According to Joshua Mausolf, a member of the NOVA Student Government Association, at the beginning of the day the students received a quick briefing on how to approach the delegates. They were told how to share “their story” without seeming to eager to get their point across that NOVA needs more money, being one of the lowest-funded higher educational learning facilities. As a group, the students were called into the offices of delegates such as Vivian Watts, James Scott, Mark Keam, David Bulova and more.

James Gross, a member of the SGA, said, “We talked to each senator and delegate and told them about ourselves and our experiences at NOVA… It was a lot more personal coming from the students.”

Students shared stories of having nowhere to go after not being able to get a loan from expensive four-year universities and how thankful they were for the discount prices NOVA offers. Other students explained the competitiveness of trying to transfer to top schools right out of high school and the flexibility that NOVA’s guaranteed agreement offers. Other students had come to NOVA from out of the country and used NOVA as a stepping stone into United States culture. These visiting students represented over 67,000 students and shared stories that were quite similar to those of their friends back on the NOVA campuses.

All in all, the message the students got across to the delegates was unanimous: NOVA has outstanding teachers, diversity and has offered students opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible.

Gross said, “We absolutely had an impact. It’s very different than writing a letter because it creates a connection, and the delegates and senators really remember that.”

And how did the delegates respond to college students pulling them away from their hectic schedule to ask for more money? According to Dima Elcharif, a member of the SGA, the delegates were all welcoming and happy to talk to the students. They were patient and listened to everything the students had to say. They appeared to be supportive of NOVA, many having visited the school on a regular basis. In fact, Delegate Keam even has a child who attends Korean classes at the Annandale campus every weekend.

Mausolf said, “The delegates seemed to be on our side as far as keeping the funding for NOVA and not trying to cut back on it anymore.”
According to Gross, the delegates assured the students that they would remember them when it came time to pass legislation.
Gross said that the experience benefited everyone. The students went to represent NOVA but ended up taking a lot more from it than what they expected. It was a first-hand look at the democratic process.

Mausolf said, “I certainly got a lot out of the experience. It was beneficial to see what everyday politics is like versus what you simply see by the media. It was a nice inside look on how it works.”

Mausolf added that it was great for each of the students to be able to meet their own representative from their district. The students were finally able to put a face with the name.

By: Nicole DiAntonio

Stay updated by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.