Student selected as state civic ambassador
August 19, 2020 | by Shelly Vitanza
Katey McCall is Lamar University’s first student to be chosen as a Texas Civic Ambassador to the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life.
McCall, a senior political science major who plans to attend law school, was added to the ranks of college students from across the state to further the mission of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life for a year
of service.
“It is a wonderful program, and I look forward to being able to share this experience with the LU community,” said McCall, who was selected from 150 applicants for approximately 30 positions.
The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life is a program of The University of Texas functioning in the Moody College of Communication to cultivate informed voters and active citizens through research, education and outreach programs focused on civic discovery, young people and civil dialogue.
“Basically it’s a non-bipartisan group that works to engage young votes to become civically engaged,” said McCall. “We want to open up dialogue and talk about the importance of participating in elections and improving the overall health of our age group in Texas in general.”
McCall, who recently finished representing LU as the Texas State University System Student Regent, a prestigious position only held by one other LU student in the University’s history, has met with other Texas Civic Ambassadors (via Zoom) to talk about how to engage students on their respective campuses. McCall hopes to host events on the LU campus, like presidential debate watch parties with pizza and therapy dogs, but may be limited due to COVID-19 safety concerns.
“We won’t get into the political issues but hope to make people feel comfortable with civic life so they’re approachable,” said McCall. “If we can’t meet physically, we’ll make adjustments. In the least, I’ll be doing a registration challenge with the other ambassadors in the state to see how many we can get registered to vote.”
New Texas Civic Ambassadors are chosen annually. See more information about the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life and if interested in applying talk with Sara Gubala, a political science instructor.
McCall, a senior political science major who plans to attend law school, was added to the ranks of college students from across the state to further the mission of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life for a year
of service. “It is a wonderful program, and I look forward to being able to share this experience with the LU community,” said McCall, who was selected from 150 applicants for approximately 30 positions.
The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life is a program of The University of Texas functioning in the Moody College of Communication to cultivate informed voters and active citizens through research, education and outreach programs focused on civic discovery, young people and civil dialogue.
“Basically it’s a non-bipartisan group that works to engage young votes to become civically engaged,” said McCall. “We want to open up dialogue and talk about the importance of participating in elections and improving the overall health of our age group in Texas in general.”
McCall, who recently finished representing LU as the Texas State University System Student Regent, a prestigious position only held by one other LU student in the University’s history, has met with other Texas Civic Ambassadors (via Zoom) to talk about how to engage students on their respective campuses. McCall hopes to host events on the LU campus, like presidential debate watch parties with pizza and therapy dogs, but may be limited due to COVID-19 safety concerns.
“We won’t get into the political issues but hope to make people feel comfortable with civic life so they’re approachable,” said McCall. “If we can’t meet physically, we’ll make adjustments. In the least, I’ll be doing a registration challenge with the other ambassadors in the state to see how many we can get registered to vote.”
New Texas Civic Ambassadors are chosen annually. See more information about the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life and if interested in applying talk with Sara Gubala, a political science instructor.