It's hard to believe that all it takes is a simple email to request a meeting with our Senators and Congressional Representatives. One email saying "we would like to meet" and our leaders make every effort to make sure their constituents are heard. Now that's what I call government.
Members of PCACAC's Government Relations Committee scheduled meetings with several federal lawmakers from MD and VA on Monday, February 29th after the NACAC legislative conference.
Our agenda was simple: advocate for the guidance counselors and admissions officers that make up our profession and ensure that college bound students have the resources they need to transition smoothly into an institution of higher learning. Our first meeting of the day was with staffers from the offices of Senators Cardin and Mikulski. The day went very well and the legislative aides we met with were receptive and provided us a lot of useful information regarding the current status of the re-authorization of the Higher Education Act, one of the preeminent laws that governs higher education spending. Information packets that contained various information about positions NACAC has taken on education issues, the student-to-counselor ratio by state, and legislation--both past and present--that NACAC supported were distributed.
All-in-all, we left feeling very accomplished and pleased with the staffers we worked with for the day, a few of which met with us last year as well. We did extend an invitation to all of the offices we met with to come to one of the NACAC fairs being held in and around the DC metro area so they could get a small taste of what NACAC does and is all about.
What was really defining about our advocacy day on Capital Hill was how attentive the legislators offices were and how easy it was to schedule meetings with them. What I want people to take away from PCACAC's experience on the Hill is that "We the People" actually have a voice, we just need to know what we want to say and not be afraid to march on up to our legislators and say it. We did, in fact, put them in office, right?
- Submitted by Samuel Shoge, Assistant Director of Admissions, Washington College (MD)
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