With the help of current Manheim Township high school students and alumni, Dana Hamp Gulick (D), a 1990 Manheim Township (MT) graduate, is running for Pennsylvania’s 97th House District. 

Gulick’s campaign team is composed of seven interns, all of whom graduated from Manheim Township: Olivia Salembier ‘16, Madeline Elliott ‘18, Miranda Gibson ‘18, Alyssa Meisl ‘18, Jeremy Zimmerman ‘17, Sophia Rockwell ‘20 and Katie Labezius ‘19. Gulick recruited her interns through social media.

 “We put [the intern opportunity] out on the social media channels that my campaign is on, which is Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and now Tik Tok because of my interns. … The word got around and we had eight people apply,” Gulick says. 

The seven interns are split into three groups: field (3), communications (3), and finance (1). Although each group has their differences, all three focus on outreach, which includes phone banking, social media posts, and donor research. 

 “Most of what I do entails corresponding and coordinating with volunteers, whether it’s for postcarding, phonebanking, or those who want to host … virtual events in support of Dana,” says field intern Olivia Salembier

Communication intern Alyssa Miesl describes her research-oriented work: “Depending on the week, I will be researching different topics; we have done research on new standpoints for Dana, as well as where her opponents lack in ideas important to the 97[th district].” 

Communication is a large part of the interns’ lives; talking with people while phone banking can be somewhat polarizing, however, especially when advocating for a campaign.

“Not everyone is receptive to having a conversation and talking about the current state of our government, which occasionally leads to some unpleasant interactions,” says communication intern Sophia Rockwell.

 “Sometimes you get a person on the phone who completely disagrees with Dana’s viewpoints, and will tell you wholeheartedly,”  Miesl says.

While campaign work can be difficult, it can also be rewarding at times; many of the interns enjoy working with their intimate group. 

“The environment that the campaign has created is so supportive and has been a place where I have felt comfortable asking questions, making mistakes, and really get to learn about what campaign work is like,” says communication intern Miranda Gibson.

To foster a similar supportive environment among young voters, the team of interns created a platform dubbed OurTurn, an affiliate group to Gulick’s campaign. OurTurn invites high school and college students, as well as other young voters, to participate in a forum where they can collaborate with their peers and actively participate in their community. Young activists are able to immerse themselves in local politics through this collaborative network by volunteering for Gulick’s campaign. 

OurTurn is especially valuable to Gulick herself, who believes that young people are vital in regards to their work in local politics.

“Young people are so critical.  … I think it’s important that the young people in my campaign are smart and hardworking, passionate … and clear-eyed about what they want the world to look like,”  she said. 

 As young people themselves, the interns opinions’ coincide with Gulick’s; they offer advice for young activists, especially high school students. Salembier mentions how important grassroot work is at the local level; having conversations within our communities can have an effect on larger scale governments. Gibson agrees, mentioning activities like making phone calls and dropping off yard signs for local campaigns; and getting involved in volunteer opportunities “is as simple as sending a DM on Instagram.” 

 Local involvement is especially important for small campaigns like Gulick’s, and the interns’ outreach work has made it easy to get involved in this campaign. This work is especially important to Gulick, who believes in the importance of youth-lead campaign work.     

“I think that we need to listen to young people. … It’s about time to start listening to folks when they start to express their interests, their passions, their concerns. … That’s what I’m trying to do: learn from them as much as they’re learning from us,”  Gulick says.