Why Politics? To make stories like my family's possible
My parents met working at a grocery store when they were 15: my mom was the cashier and my dad was the bagger. They were working at Star Market to save up to pay their own way through college a few years later. Fortunately, they were able to do just that, attending public college and even obtaining graduate degrees with the money they earned working at that grocery store. It paid off: my Dad became a successful businessman in Boston and my Mom became an educator. Through the lives they built for themselves, they were able to provide my younger brother and me with incredible opportunities that they could not have dreamed of as kids.
My brother Tim and I realized early on that our parents’ story is only possible in the United States. This country welcomed our starving Irish ancestors, sent our grandfathers to college on the GI Bill after World War II, and made it possible for our parents to climb the economic ladder. We both felt that we owed our country a tremendous debt for what it had done for our family, and we wanted to ensure that ladders of opportunity were available to everyone in America. So, we dove head-first into the most aggressive, self-sacrificing type of service we could think of—we joined the military.
I went to the Naval Academy and then into the Marines, and Tim went to West Point (unfortunately) and still serves as an Army helicopter pilot. We both fell in love with the sense of purpose, camaraderie, and challenge that the military brings every day.
A year after leaving the Marine Corps, I sat in a cubicle at a client site staring at an Excel spreadsheet as a management consultant in 2016. I longed for the sense of purpose I used to have in the military. I missed the days when I woke up every morning, put on my uniform, and got to serve my country alongside incredible Americans. At the same time, I was frustrated with our politics. The vitriol and stagnation that defines our politics seemed to be impeding, rather than expanding, the kind of opportunities my parents had access to in order to climb the ladder.
On one Saturday afternoon, after I ranted to my wife Katie in our studio apartment about how one presidential candidate voiced approval for torturing and indefinitely detaining suspected terrorists, she turned to me and asked, “Ok, so what are you going to do about it?”
The question stopped me dead in my tracks. The truth was that I had no idea. So, I just stared wide-eyed at Katie, bewildered by the question. Lucky for me, it turned out she had an idea: “You’ve always loved politics, why don’t you try to join a campaign.” Seemed crazy. At that point, Katie and I had spent more of our relationship apart than together, and it was hard to swallow the idea of moving away from her again to join a campaign for the better portion of a year. But I had to do something…
A few weeks and several phone calls later, I quit my job and moved to Florida to lead the data and analytics team for Secretary Hillary Clinton’s campaign. For the first time since leaving the Marines, I woke up every morning on the campaign and felt that sense of purpose -- that I was serving my country.
I truly thought my foray into politics would be a “one and done” experience. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and it took a significant physical and mental toll. While I was proud to have contributed to a campaign I believed in and to have served my country again, I felt relieved to move back home to Katie and take a more comfortable role in the private sector. Despite my intention to settle down, the drive to serve kept calling me back. Within a year, I knew that I needed to wake up every morning feeling that sense of purpose. I needed to make politics my career.
I joined New Politics Leadership Academy in the summer of 2018 to reconnect with that sense of purpose, and I feel it every day. Working with servant leaders who share my love of country echoes my experience working with Marines. Our community’s mission-first mindset gives me hope that the vitriol of the current political climate can be overcome if we elect the right people. I know our work directly contributes to improving the country, and I’m proud to work for an organization that helps ensure American stories like my family’s remain possible.
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