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USU students to attend major
party conventions this summer
GLOBE TROTTER: Tabitha
Lazenby, left, with a woman of the sewing cooperative
where Lazenby conducted research in Nicaragua. /
Photo courtesy of Tabitha Lazenby
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By Cameron Salony
March 28, 2008 | Two Utah State University students
will mingle with politicians during the two major
parties' 2008 National Convention this summer.
Joseph Irvine will attend the National Republican
Convention at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint
Paul, Minn., Sept. 1-4. Tabitha Lazenby will attend
the Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi
Center in Denver, Aug 25-28.
Irvine of Mesa, Ariz., and Lazenby of Kamas,
Utah, will also attend the Washington Center's
Presidential Nominating Seminar, which will include
arriving at the site one week before the convention
to watch preparations and guest speakers.
Traditionally, speakers from the secret services
and presidential nominee advisers have personally
addressed the students. Previous speakers have
included Bob Woodward of the Washington Post and
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
In previous years, students were able to spend
time on the convention floor.
Each student will also take part in a special
fieldwork assignment, convention receptions and
party rallies. Possible fieldwork assignments
include working for the political party, a presidential
candidate or media outlet.
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Joseph Irvine |
"I hope to represent Utah State University well and
learn the most possible about the political process
by actually participating in the convention," Irvine
said.
"I am excited to attend the convention because it
will be a perfect addition to my work and study in politics
and development," Lazenby said.
Irvine is a management and information systems major
who plans on studying law at the graduate level. Irvine
was featured in Newsweek and The Washington
Post after creating a software program for his
prep school's admissions lottery. Today he owns a business
selling the software to schools across the country.
He started his first business repairing computers
at the age of 12.
Irvine, 19, sees this opportunity as a beginning to
his political career and a chance to lobby for what
he feels is most important.
"There is a billboard as you enter Salt Lake that
asks for supporters to stop animal abuse," he said,
"While I feel that animal abuse is wrong, there are
25,000 people dying each day from starvation, and millions
other suffering from abuses we can't even fathom. Why
don't we spend all of our energy to help diminish these
atrocities?"
Lazenby is an International Studies major, who has
studied in Nicaragua and Uganda. She will also work
with Rotary International this summer in Kenya. She
participated in an in depth-study of ethnic and political
conflict in Rwanda which included a visit to the Kigali
Genocide Memorial Museum. She plans to study immigration
and public policy in graduate school.
She says studying abroad has caused her to "rethink
her identities."
"After speaking to former Sandinista and Contra soldiers,
I began to realize that the real story of Nicaragua
was not the menacing threat of worldwide communism,
and not even the threat of U.S. imperialism," she said,
"It was the struggle to assert human worth and human
rights."
She enjoys horseback riding and plans on competing
in the Miss Rodeo Utah Pageant next summer. She also
says she likes to hitchhike in foreign countries.
A committee from the USU Honors Program selected the
two students based upon essays, future goals, grade-point
averages and Honors course work. The program will cover
the students' cost for the duration of the seminars.
The program also sent two students to the last seminar
in 2004.
The seminars are offered through The Washington Center
for Internships and Academic Seminars. Since 1984, the
center has offered two seminars in connection with the
Democratic and Republican National conventions. The
seminars are traditionally endorsed by each national
party chair.
This is a great opportunity for these wonderful students,"
Dr. Christie Fox, Honors Program Director, said "We've
been prepping these students to be engaged learners
and citizens and hope that this experience will help
prepare them for even greater things, such as applying
for national fellowships, like the Truman."
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