Partnering with Policymakers to Advance Public Good
Gavin Campbell, a senior majoring in government and foreign affairs, has been interning with Lead for America for the past year, and through his work with the City of North Canton, he is initiating new legislation. He learned about the internship through Handshake, Walsh University’s career development platform. Lead for America is a national nonprofit that recruits, trains and places college students in high-impact, changemaking roles in local communities as Chapter Founders.
“My role as Chapter Founder at Walsh is pretty unique because there are only about 20 chapters right now, and most of them are large, prestigious schools,” Campbell said. “Lead for America is cutting edge in that it’s trying to get more younger minds involved in local government and their communities. I basically bridge the gap between Lead for America, Walsh and North Canton.”
The way it works is the City of North Canton comes up with an issue they need to solve. This year, it’s public communications. The city believes they could be better at reporting things like road closures to the community, many of whom are an older demographic. Campbell will create a case packet and members of his student organization at Walsh will participate in the challenge of devising policy proposals. The student with the winning proposal will be granted a summer internship with the City of North Canton and a fellowship with Lead for America.
“I’d like to see Walsh more involved with North Canton, especially the student body,” he said. “To be able to say our club has made an actual impact in the community and has the potential to solve problems from a legal standpoint is really important for Walsh University, our connection and our relationship to North Canton.”
Campbell will be working on a succession plan so that when he graduates the Chapter will continue as a club on campus, collaborating with the City of North Canton.
“My dream job after graduation would be to work for Lead for America and become a national Fellow,” he said. “Working with nonprofits is what I want to do. I want a job with purpose.”
