More than 60 student ambassadors from 30 colleges and universities across the country exchanged their opinions on the state of the nation, topics of concern and discussion on their campuses and their overall positive feelings toward the future during the first full day of programs at the National Campaign for Political and Civic Engagement annual conference.

Throughout the morning they heard from a diverse group of speakers providing insights into how to foster and expand dialogue and civil discourse on campus. During a 90 minutes Town Hall conducted by John Della Volpe IOP Director of Polling, participants shared experiences in discussing a range of issues on campus and beyond.

Since 2003, the IOP-led National Campaign has held annual conferences to identify collaborative projects, foster engagement in electoral politics, assist students in pursuing careers in public service, and provide a foundation in civic education. Led by a team of Harvard undergraduates, the student representatives to the National Campaign collaborate to achieve concrete goals, such as working with local election offices to improve the voting experience for their campus communities. This year’s committee chair is Eloise Kaehny ’19.

The student ambassadors were joined by administrators or program heads who lead campus organizations fostering public service and political and civic engagement.

Participating in this year’s conference were representatives from: Allegheny College, Arizona State University, Colby College, Davidson College, Elon University, Florida International University, Franklin and Marshall College, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Howard University, Louisiana State University, Mercer University, Ohio State University, Rutgers University, Saint Anselm College, Simpson College, Spelman College, Tennessee State University, Tufts University, University of Chicago, University of Delaware, University of Florida, University of Louisville, University of North Carolina, University of Oklahoma, University of Rochester, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, University of Texas, Austin, University of Utah and the University of Virginia.