From the mayor’s office to the presidential campaign trail, grassroots organizing to the U.N., Bennington students use Field Work Term for civic action

Whether they’re campaigning for presidential candidates, canvassing neighborhoods to promote sustainability, or working shoulder to shoulder with a mayor to redevelop an abandoned city, Bennington students are heeding the call to change the world—before they graduate. Taking full advantage of the College’s hallmark seven-week winter Field Work Term, students are plunging into communities worldwide and developing skills to act, improvise, connect, reinvent, and effectively reconstruct the world.

Here’s what six students have to say about their choice to take action.

Jacob Bielecki ’09, Town of Braddock, Pennsylvania: “My focus at Bennington is community development,” begins Jacob, “and Braddock is a project that reflects what I am after when I say I am pursuing ‘community development.’” Jacob, a New Hampshire resident, was inspired by the work of Braddock’s young, hands-on mayor, whose ambitious efforts to refurbish a dying steel town outside of Pittsburgh were profiled in Ready Made magazine. “The mayor is filled with action plans, pro-activity, and a get-it-done kind of attitude…he is trying to revolutionize a community.” The town’s unofficial motto, “create amidst destruction,” sums up Jacob’s FWT experience aptly: He is doing the backbreaking kind of labor usually associated with organizations like Habitat for Humanity—refinishing floors, painting, and hauling debris, among a litany of other tasks. However, Jacob’s guided by the firm belief that this work “not only unearths valuable American history, it attempts to repair communities, revitalize downtowns, and provide alternatives to modern American cookie-cutter cultural trends.”

Chris Dunne ’11, The Legislative Council of the Vermont General Assembly: “I think a lot of people believe the ‘Great Man’ theory of history too readily, which can lead to the idea that wealth and political prominence are necessary to make a significant difference,” explains Chris, who chose for his first Field Work Term to work with the non-partisan Legislative Council at the Vermont State House. “[Money and prominence] are helpful, but I think change can be effected by ordinary people through high levels of trust, cooperation, and a common cause.” Chris says that his FWT experience at the Council has given him a more in-depth look into the inner workings of government, having had the opportunity to assist Council staff working to amend bills, work out pieces of legislation, and field responses from Vermont constituents.

Leo Evans ’11, United Nations: “I am connecting to the world” is how Leo characterizes his FWT position within the U.N.’s Staff Activities and Housing Unit. His official work is to assist U.N. community members with housing, transportation, and cultural information, but, in between, Leo takes it all in. “The first time I walked into the cafeteria was a tremendous moment…I saw individuals of all nationalities and heard conversations in at least a dozen languages. This sense of awe was amplified when I considered the history of the place and thought of all the people who must have passed through the same halls that I had walked that very morning.”

Emma Harden ’11, Americans for Democratic Action: “Being in Washington and going to Congress has made me realize how much of an impact I can have on political decisions.” The mission of Americans for Democratic Action is to keep the public informed and up-to-date on congressional activity, and, for her first FWT experience, Emma is aiding efforts by the organization to increase citizen participation in the legislative process. “Politicians are people, and anyone can speak to them. I think that if people knew that they could walk into their representative’s office and talk to him or her, there would be much more change.”

Andrew Hobbs ’10, League of Conservation Voters: By the end of this year’s field work term, Andrew will have interacted with hundreds of residents in the suburbs of Washington, DC, going door to door and speaking with citizens on behalf of the League of Conservation Voters—a non-profit organization that seeks to elect green candidates and unseat “dirty” representatives. Andrew says canvassing is unlike anything he has experienced. “College trains you in the ways of deep, extended thought; whereas canvassing trains a quick and reflexive thought that responds instantly to all kinds of visual and audio clues. I am learning to make my personality flexible, respond to input from strangers, and react accordingly.”

Emily Thomas ’11, Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign: “I wanted to see how a presidential race was run,” says Emily from the inside of the Hillary Clinton campaign in her home state of California. Emily, a first-year student, is cutting her teeth on the campaign trail by recruiting volunteers, organizing local events, and assisting in getting out the vote. “By learning so much about the different primaries and how the delegate process works, I feel the actual impact.” But, ultimately, Emily hopes her work this FWT helps to “make others more aware of U.S. politics and how important it is to vote.”

More...

• For more Field Work Term stories: How does Bennington prepare students for life after college? And what’s Field Work Term?
• For more ways in which Bennington students engage with their communities: How does Bennington connect with the community and the world?

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