March 20, 2019 — Self-described political nerd Josh Donner didn’t think he would have much of a chance of winning a spot on the prestigious 2019 College Student Congress at the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship, but why not try?
His efforts paid off when CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Political Science major learned he was indeed among 51 college students across the nation chosen to travel to Lexington, Kentucky and Washington, D.C. for its annual College Student Congress, where each student will represent his or her home state.
“I’m a California liberal progressive and I’ll be hanging out with conservatives, centrists and other progressives all across the county,” Donner said. “I think it’s good to get outside the group of folks you know to find out what do the folks in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama think the solution is? If we get to know each other a little better, we may be able to understand why our message is not reaching the other.”
The two-week mock congress will begin at the University of Kentucky on May 13 and wrap up at Marymount University in D.C. on May 24. During that time, Donner and the other 50 students will hear from academics, lawmakers, journalists and civic leaders about compromise, partisan cooperation and how to develop policy solutions for today’s most pressing issues.
“We need to remember we’re all on the same team,” Donner said. “During the 2016 election, the red states got redder and the blue states got bluer. There’s an attitude out there that the other side is the enemy. That’s an OK attitude for politics, but it’s not the way the government is supposed to work.”
Politically active since the eighth grade, the 21-year-old junior is thrilled to have the chance to learn about the principles of statesmanship in the tradition of one of Kentucky’s most prominent statesmen, Henry Clay.
“I was the youngest volunteer for Julia Brownley, (D-Calif.) going around knocking on doors,” he said. “I founded the Moorpark High School Democrats Club. I worked on Henry Stern’s state senate race.”
Donner and other high school volunteers arranged for Stern (D-Calif.) to come speak at Moorpark High School and Donner was gratified to attract 120 students with almost 30 of them going on to become volunteers in their local election.
“Whenever anyone says high school and college students don’t want to be engaged, I remember that day,” Donner said. “We just need to go reach them and make the attempt. If we really want a politically engaged populace, we need to start with high school. We need to work to bring civics back.”
Donner credits his politically-involved parents with his engagement in government. Both are attorneys who believe citizens must be active participants in the democratic process.
After graduation in 2020, Donner expressed an interest in working in some capacity for the California State Legislature and perhaps attending law school like his parents.
One of Donner’s CSUCI Political Science instructors, Tim Allison, J.D., believes Donner has a bright future in public service.
“On a daily basis Josh Donner demonstrates leadership skills and a willingness to mentor his fellow students” Allison said. “Josh is a great choice to represent California for this prestigious fellowship. He is making a difference at CSUCI and across the state and country”.