During the Fall 2020 semester, I had the privilege of working as an Engagement and Outreach Intern with the Big Ten Voting Challenge through the PACE office at Indiana University. From September all the way through November I worked with the Big Ten Steering Committee and PACE staff members to increase voter turnout and education at Indiana University.

This semester was a turbulent one in many ways, especially when working with things regarding the election, but still finding meaningful ways to engage with IU students while being as safe as possible forced the team to be creative and think outside of the box. This was my first internship experience and doing it mostly through a computer was a change at first, but I am so grateful for how this experience prepared me to help make a tangible impact in a virtual world. I was able to help with outreach to both IU and Bloomington partners, coordinate events that directly helped students register to vote and get to the polls, and connect with Bloomington and Monroe County election officials to provide a student’s perspective concerning the obstacles to voting.

I am so grateful that I was able to work with the other Big Ten Voting Challenge interns as well as the awesome people who work in the PACE office during this election specifically. Fair and equitable access to voting is one of the cornerstones of our democracy and I cherished the opportunity to work towards that goal this past semester.