Students looking to get directly involved with local legislators should listen up.
McKenzie MacDonald, ASUI’s director of policy said ASUI is searching for about 40 students to accompany other ASUI members on their 2017 Legislative Ambassador trip to Boise.
MacDonald said the three-day excursion gives students a chance to network and lobby with their local legislators.
“If I could tell a student to get involved in one thing in ASUI, it would be Legislative Ambassador,” ASUI Lobbyist Rachael Miller said.
Miller attended the trip last year while she was the pro-tempore for ASUI Senate.
Miller said she and other students were able to network with legislators and lobby for the medical amnesty bill ASUI brought to the state legislature last year. She said the trip is a fun and meaningful experience.
“It’s literally my favorite experience that I’ve had in ASUI,” Miller said.
This year, Miller said students can lobby for a bill ASUI will bring to the legislature next year to grant residency fishing, hunting and trapping licenses and permits to non-resident, full-time students attending an accredited Idaho college or university.
Miller wrote the bill. She said Rep. Caroline Nilsson Troy, representing Latah and Benewah counties, will sponsor the legislation at the Capitol.
“It’s really important for me that we get quality applicants and people who are well-spoken and excited about the policies that we’re working on,” Miller said.
MacDonald said students chosen to attend will travel to Boise in January via university transportation. MacDonald said students will participate in a service project. She said she and ASUI Vice President Kelsy Briggs are looking into visiting high schools in the Boise area to talk about the trip, as well as their experiences as students at the University of Idaho.
Students will also attend a luncheon where they can eat and chat with their local legislators.
“It really just gives students an opportunity to communicate with and connect with state leaders and lawmakers,” MacDonald said. “It’s a really cool, and I think, pretty unique opportunity for such a large group of students.”
MacDonald, who is spearheading the event, said ASUI traditionally matches students with legislators from their home district. This year, MacDonald said ASUI is also looking for out-of-state students — those who may be impacted by the hunting and trapping license bill ASUI will push at the statehouse next year — to lobby for the bill.
To apply, students can login to their VandalSync accounts at orgsync.com. From there, they can find the ASUI page and click on the application link.
The application requires students to provide a reason as to why they should be chosen in 500 words or less.
MacDonald said the application has been available since Oct. 24 and will close on Monday, Nov. 7.
As of Nov. 3, MacDonald said she received nine applications.
Sen. Tanner Beymer said in the past, ASUI members have contacted students who they believed would be a good fit for the trip.
MacDonald said she has not targeted any students yet, but may do so if she does not receive more applications.
“One of the reasons that we wait to target is we want to open it up to students who, you know, we might not know in ASUI who would be good fits for it,” Beymer said.
Beymer said many of students will apply on the last day.
Taylor Nadauld can be reached at [email protected]