More and more every year we hear about and see the amazing things young adults do for society and the world. Between marches, activism, and involvement in politics, it’s no secret that today’s youth are making a change. As younger people all around the world get involved with the real-world issues facing society, it becomes apparent that our future lies in the hands of these trailblazers. People have more passion than ever in our current society, and it is inspiring to see people—especially young people—go after what they’re passionate about. That’s why I’m so excited to announce this week’s Friday Feature: Hannah King. Hannah is a sophomore at the University of Vermont, and she recently completed Emerge Vermont’s Campaign Staff Bootcamp this past fall. Though only halfway through her second year at university, Hannah’s involvement at her school and in her community are numerous and admirable.
Hannah is working towards a degree in community and international development. She grew up in a small town in Massachusetts, and the sense of community that Burlington offers drew her toward UVM from a very young age. Since her debut at UVM in 2018, Hannah has been involved in UVM Democrats and the Student Government Association. In both of these roles she acts as a voice for the student body and represents their needs on a higher level. With an equal passion for community work, this year Hannah’s focus has been largely on getting involved within the Burlington city scene. She serves as a Ward 8 steering committee member, a representative on the community block grant advisory board, and she works as a campaign manager for Adam Roof for City Council. In addition to these local roles, Hannah serves as the Vice President for the Young Democrats of Vermont—an organization with the mission of getting Vermont’s youth engaged in political activity.
Hannah was familiar with Emerge and its mission from acquaintances she knows who have been through the program. However, it was ultimately a post on Facebook that pushed her to apply for the campaign staff bootcamp. The weekend-long training exposed Hannah to the fundamentals of running a campaign, and she appreciated learning the basics in order to build upon her knowledge from her real-world experiences. I asked Hannah about being one of the youngest women going through the bootcamp, and she assured me that she tends to be the youngest person when she gets involved in politics. Rather than this acting as a barrier, she ultimately uses it as an advantage. Hannah’s network is already reaching across Burlington and Vermont, setting her up for success in her future endeavors in campaign and city council work. The connections she made from the staff bootcamp are invaluable, and she will continue to feel the effects of the Emerge sisterhood throughout her time working in politics.
I was fascinated to learn that Hannah serves as a campaign manager for Adam Roof—a Burlington city councilor currently running for his third term. Some of her roles for his campaign include working alongside him, assisting with day-to-day needs, managing social media pages, and coordinating volunteers. Hannah admits that working with Adam has been a great inspiration because he also had a background in getting involved with politics early in life. She noted that witnessing first-hand the achievements of a young city councilor is motivation for her to continue on her current path. If the work Hannah’s done so far with her school and within her community is any indication of her future in politics, I think she has an amazing career ahead of her. We here at Emerge look forward to seeing how Hannah continues with her campaign management work and how she can use the tools from the Emerge bootcamp to continue on a path in politics.
Emerge has one goal: To increase the number of Democratic women in office who are reflective of the incredible diversity of the Democratic party by recruiting, training and providing a powerful network.