Posted by anderc8 on Friday, March 31, 2017 in News, The Nation's Health.

Written by Tessa A. Eidelman, Vanderbilt PhD student in the Department of Human and Organizational Development

Our visit to the Tennessee State Capitol was an educational and fun experience. My overall sense of the day was just how fast-paced and quickly everything moved. Within the space of four hours we attended the House Finance meeting, met with three different representatives, heard from a staffer and intern about their work experiences, toured the Capitol building and had lunch! As we moved quickly between our meetings with different representatives, I was aware that we were surrounded by lots of people moving from session to session, people having animated conversations in the crowded hallways, and a variety of different interest groups that had set up tables with information about the causes and issues that they care about. My sense was that everybody here has a purpose. Everyone here wants to see some aspect of policy change or wants to see an issue they are concerned with get more attention. This energy made the Capitol a very exciting and fascinating place to visit.

In our meetings with representatives, I was encouraged by their genuine interest in listening to what we had to say and their eagerness to understand and answer our policy related questions. It was also interesting to listen to the different issues that representatives are passionate about and hear how they frame their positions on these issues. I was also struck that, in many cases, the issues that representatives spoke about have some personal meaning for them. The short meeting times that we had with representatives made me appreciate how, in such situations, you have to have a clear sense of what you want to say, what your concerns or questions are, and what your asks are. Having prepared a policy brief felt really empowering in this regard, as it meant that issues we wanted to talk about (and why) were fresh in our minds. It also meant that we had something that we could leave with the representatives we spoke with, which felt fulfilling. Not many of my assignments have been this practical or had an audience outside of the academy.

The highlight for me was meeting with Rep. Johnnie Turner. Although we only had a short time with her, she used that time to tell us some inspiring stories about her life and involvement in the civil rights movement. She also took time to hear about the issues of concern to us. This visit stood out because of Rep. Turner’s palpable passion for her work and belief that public office offers an effective way to fight for the rights and policies she believes in. She was also extremely validating of the importance of the issues we raised and was encouraging of our continued engagement with our representatives on these issues.

As an international student, but also as someone who has not thought a lot about the process of policymaking prior to taking this class, the visit to the State Capitol was educational. I appreciated being able to see and experience aspects of the policymaking process “in-action” and to realize that this really does happen in a very public way that we are able to witness and find ways to participate in.