Hey everyone, I’m a rising senior in Georgia. I’m looking at UGA, GT, Auburn, and Alabama. My end goal in life is to be a politician in either the House of Representatives or the Senate and hopefully even run for president. However, I recognize that I need something to do that will pay the bills before I get old enough to really start a political career and I’m also interested in more than just politics. So I want to study some kind of engineering (leaning towards ME right now) in college while possibly double majoring, minoring, or simply taking courses in Political Science, Finance, Economics, Foreign Affairs, etc. I have visited UGA and I liked it a lot but the fact that not all of the engineering program’s degrees (ME falls into this boat) are accredited concerns me. From UGA College of Engineering’s website: Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering are new programs seeking initial accreditation in AY 2017-2018. You can read more at http://www.engineering.uga.edu/accreditation. My first year of college would be the 2017-2018 school year, so maybe ME would be accredited during my freshman year before I really get into the major specific classes. I know that I have the world class Georgia Institute of Technology’s ME program right in my backyard at a real steal with Zell Miller but GT doesn’t have much to offer me in the political related fields I mentioned above. Auburn and Alabama might not be GT, but they are accredited and they’re fine schools that offer some political courses/majors as well. So I think that I like UGA overall the most, but I’m concerned with the ME program. I’m planning on scheduling a tour of the College of Engineering at UGA soon to get more info. I got some info when I was at the First Look program but that was just a few flyers and a short conversation so I want to take the engineering tour. I would love to hear from some current ME students at UGA but of course anyone’s input is appreciated. Is my concern justified? Should I choose somewhere else? I plan on applying to all of those schools regardless so I don’t need to make a decision right now but time flies and it will be May 2017 before we know it.
Many of our state reps are GT grads - you don’t need any special education to be a state rep/senator. I know many of them and they are all over the board from no education higher than high school to PHD’s to CEO/CIO/CFO’s to small independent businessmen. If you want to be in politics you need to start by being active in your community on a local level - you get in front of people a lot, understand how the city/county/state/boards, education, etc are organized. You can’t imagine how many people have no clue - it’s not complicated - just log into your local city/county/state websites or google (make sure your on official sites) and read, read, read. If you are a junior or senior in high school apply to the Youth Leadership program (fill in your county here) - my son did this and learned a lot about local government. Gain experience by getting appointed to local boards/authorities/commissions by your county commission or city council. Volunteer a lot and your name will end up in the local paper often. I wish there was a formula to identify how many local politicians are elected by those who specifically studied the candidates and made an educated choice and how many just picked the most well known name…I think it’s waaaay skewed on the name familiarity side. Understanding local/state and your country’s history, makes you sound smart, but understanding basic psychology, how to sell yourself and work a room will get you elected. Once you’ve spent enough time serving your community on boards/authorities/committees, etc…you may have enough name recognition (and knowledge) to run for local Board of Commissioners, City Council, Board of Education, etc. Those are the local government organizations that historically tend to be direct stepping stones to state rep/senators - from there to U.S. rep/senator and/or governor - and of course on to the Prez.
Good luck to you…hope I get the chance to vote for you some day!
BTW…War Eagle!!!
Thanks for the advice! My brother actually goes to Auburn. One of the big reasons I wanted to study engineering is that I just think it’s interesting and would make for a rewarding and fun career; I didn’t mean that I would need an engineering degree to work in government. You made a really good point about how it starts with getting in front of your local community, building a name and really having an impact. I will check out that Youth Leadership Program that you mentioned. Thanks again!
I would visit all of your schools and see which one feels like the best fit. I have a jr EE major at UA and he absolutely loves it. He has had a lot of great opportunities and will start his first rotation in a co-op this fall. His sister did not feel like it was a good fit for her. She also visited Auburn and GT. In the end, UGA felt like home and that is where she will be in a few weeks.