VCU Freshman featured by Obama campaign

Amir Vera
Staff Writer

With the election over, campaigning has also come to a halt around the nation and many volunteers will look back on how they spent countless hours to help their candidate of choice.

One VCU freshman got the chance to do more than hand out flyers and drive people to the polls. Physics major Lauren Vickers was chosen by the Obama for America Virginia campaign to illustrate how President Obama’s student loan reforms have made college more affordable.

According to a press release by the OFAVA, Vickers’ parents told her when she started high school that they wouldn’t be able to send her and her brother to college. However, Vickers was able to overcome the financial burden with the help of Pell Grants and student loans.

“The grants I received provided my family with a great relief as far as paying tuition goes … my family and I all wondered where the money would come from,” Vickers said. She admitted that she’s not usually the kind of person to put herself out there like that, but this time was different.

“I’d like to think my story reached voters and helped persuade or encourage them even more to support our president,” she said.

Vickers, a physics major, first got involved with the OFAVA campaign in August when she attended group meetings for the campaign. She volunteered, knocking on doors and making phone calls. After the campaign learned of her story, they thought she would be great to represent students in need.

“Lauren’s story was chosen because it exemplifies how important it is to keep college affordable for the hard-working and talented students who will be our future political leaders, doctors, engineers and teachers,” the OFAVA campaign said.

Campaign officials said Vickers was one of their “rockstar volunteers” who logged hundreds of hours making contributions to the campaign such as phone calls and knocking on doors.

The experience, Vickers said, has really affected her as a person and her outlook on educationand the voting process.“It’s actually made me reconsider my major in general. I’m thinking about becoming a political science major,” Vickers said. “I’ve really enjoyed making a difference in voters and getting people to go vote. I didn’t realize how important it was for people to go out and vote, especially students. It really does affect us.”