My Decision to Major in Political Science

I am fascinated with politics. I would even say politics is my main hobby. I enjoy reading about current events, watching and listening to the news, listening to Conservative talk radio. I am most especially interested in elections and watching as election results come in.

My fascination with politics began when I was young, long before I even started college. My mom was active in politics before she came down with cancer. I remember my mom watching the 2004 Presidential Election results, and I could remember seeing the map of the states John Kerry won and the states George W Bush won on the computer. She often had heated discussions with members of her family who disagreed with her.

My maternal grandfather, Kent Sheldon Larsen, worked as a speech-writer for George Romney when he was US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Richard Nixon. My grandpa also worked in other positions in the Federal Government in the 1970's. He was a member of Reagan's transition team after the 1980 Presidential Election and was a speech writer for James Watts when he was US Secretary of the Interior under Ronald Reagan. My grandpa went on to serve on the Bicentennial Committee on the Constitution, and he was eventually Editor-in-Chief of the Bicentennial Report.

My interest in politics began when I took American Government in eleventh Grade in 2007-2008. I had my first real exposure to the workings of our government and politics and gained a knowledge of political parties. I came to a self-awareness of my political orientation in the three months of American Government. I came to a greater understanding of how the US Government was formed, the Branches of the Federal Government, and the court and jury system and started learning the process of how the President is elected with the 2008 election year.

I read two books from the National Center for Constitutional Studies in 2008 that inspired me to be active in and go into politics. I got two books written by constitutional scholar, W Cleon Skousen (1913-2006), The 5000-Year Leap: A Miracle that Changed the World and The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution for Christmas of 2007. I learned of the Founding Principles and the intentions of the Framers who wrote and signed the Constitution in 1787. I carefully read and studied both books in less than a year, and I often refer back to both books and lead to my desire to be active in politics and restore what I understand to be our constitutional government from what I read.

I was active with the TEA Party after I graduated from high school in February of 2009. I attended two TEA Party rallies in Durango in 2009 and 2010 and took part of their marches on Main Street. I was part of a 9-12 group my mom and a neighbor began in our community. We met monthly from June of 2010 to January of 2011, and I chaired the Committee on Upcoming Events and Activities as part of the group.

I worked a shift at the Republican booth at the La Plata County fair in 2010, 2011, and 2012. I went to the La Plata County Republican Assembly in 2012 as an Alternate and acted as a Credential and as a Delegate at the Assembly. I went to the County Republican Assembly in 2016 as a Delegate. I marched with the La Plata County Republicans in the Fourth of July Parade on Main Street in downtown Durango in 2012 and 2014 and made calls at the Republican Office in Durango for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in October of 2012.

I decided I wanted to major in Political Science after I took Intro to Political Science at San Juan College in the Spring of 2012 and passed the class with an A. I was enthusiastically behind Mitt Romney at the time in the 2012 Presidential Election. I took American National Government at San Juan College a year later, after the 2012 election, in the Spring of 2013. I eventually transferred to Fort Lewis College for the Fall of 2014 where I vigorously pursued my BA in Political Science over the last two years.

I am now a graduating Senior at Fort Lewis College, working toward graduation, with seven credits left to take in the Summer. I am currently working on my research paper for Senior Seminar in Political Science on the effect of religious conservatism on Republican Presidential Candidates and election outcomes, using 1964 and 1980 as my case studies. I am especially watching the 2016 Presidential Election with intense interest at this time. I am specifically watching the Republican Primary campaign with the hope Ted Cruz is nominated.