On Tuesday, November 26, MSUvote Initiatives Programming Intern and Center for Community Engaged Learning Student Assistant Aiden Bourgeau attended the Youth Civic and Voter Engagement Event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus. He was nominated for this event through the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge as a student leader making a difference in promoting voter engagement on MSU’s campus.

“Being an intern tasked with creating and developing ideas and solutions to improving voter engagement at MSU means that I have the unique opportunity to turn student feedback and ideas into action,” Aiden said about his work with MSUvote. MSUvote’s engagement efforts ahead of the 2024 election included connecting with prospective students at Green and White Days hosted by the Office of Admissions, hosting student events such as Voting Isn’t Scary on Halloween to share information about how to vote and issues on the ballot, launching a new MSUVote Website, and supporting MSU voters on- and off-campus through biweekly Campus and Community Initiative meetings open to students, community members, clerks, alumni, and retirees. “This position is one I hope other institutions will begin to utilize to include a robust student voice within their administrations to create real change and solutions that make voting easier for all students for generations to come.”

The event was held to honor and discuss youth civic and voter engagement work on campuses across the United States. Invited were a group of campus and non-profit leaders in the national youth civic and voter engagement space. The event started with a panel of researchers and practitioners speaking about their work and thoughts on their efforts following the 2024 Presidential Election, including Caroline Lee, Professor of Sociology at Lafayette College; Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, Executive Director at ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge; and Nicolas Crookston, On-Campus Lead and Partnerships and Advocacy Associate at Voto Latino. Following the panel, an open discussion was led by Kenneth Sandoval-Bushur, Senior Advisor for Youth Engagement at the Office of Public Engagement; and Justin Vail, Special Assistant to the President for Democracy and Civic Participation on the Domestic Policy Council.

“Having the chance to share ideas and brainstorm solutions to our collective challenges was probably the most rewarding part of this experience as a whole,” Aiden shared. “Through these conversations, I was able to learn and obtain ideas for future improvements to voting for students at Michigan State University, while simultaneously being a voice to share students' concerns and issues they faced during election season.”

Aiden Bourgeau has been an MSUvote intern since February 2023 and will graduate at the end of the Fall 2024 semester with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy from James Madison College. The staff at the Center for Community Engaged Learning and MSUvote are grateful for his dedication to student democratic engagement and wish him all the best!