Email This StoryQ&A session addresses political internships, careers
Feb. 8, 2005By STEPHANIE HUTSON, reporter
Students had the opportunity to sit down with Louis Blair, executive secretary of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, for an informal question and answer session Friday in the honors lounge of Morrison Constitution Hall.
Students were able to gain advice on internships, campaigns and careers in politics from a long-time Washington insider.
Blair directs the agency that provides Truman scholarships to college juniors interested in graduate study for a career in government, education, advocacy or nonprofit sectors. An act of Congress set up the foundation in 1975 as a living memorial to the 33rd president. Since the first scholarship was awarded in the 1977-78 school year, about 600 candidates compete for roughly 80 awards each year.
"Louis Blair is an expert on career planning and coaching students for preparation for success in life," Elizabeth Vardaman, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said. "He has a passion for helping students with a set of issues not addressed in most of our classes."
Internships on local campaigns and positions on community boards and councils are good places for students interested in politics to start building relationships, according to Blair.
"I think the most exciting place in government is city government,' Blair said. "School boards are exciting because you affect people; you make things happen."
Blair emphasized the need for students to develop an area in society they are devoted to improving, and then work toward gaining a position in government that will help them affect change. According to Blair, politicians should have a passion first, and then pursue public office second.
"If you don't have a passion, then you don't project very well," Blair said. "To be successful you need a belief in causes you care about and a belief in yourself."
Students attending the session said they were interested in Blair's observation of character traits necessary to make a good candidate. Blair gave a description of what he personally looks for when interviewing for internships or choosing Truman scholarship winners.
"I love zealous people who care about what I am doing, are willing to work hard and accept criticism," Blair said. "Young people need to show determination, direction and promise."
Blair recognized the changing environment in political campaigns. He wanted students to be aware of the shift that is taking place regarding what is important in determining election winners.
"I think our attention span as a public is getting shorter and shorter and shorter, and I don't think long, studious dialogue works anymore," Blair said. "The reflective person never portrays well in the media because they are not great on sound bytes, and it is ultimately sound bytes that determine elections."
San Antonio sophomore Peyton Wofford, a political science major, said Blair's advice was helpful.
"He gave us real world suggestions. He told us to pursue things locally while in school here in Waco," Wofford said. "I appreciated his emphasis on grassroots politics and the importance of personal interactions and passion."
Blair has spent years dedicated to a life in public service and currently serves as a staff member for the President's Science Adviser. He has worked on several domestic and international committees and held political positions during the Ford and Carter administrations.
Blair earned two graduate degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later attended culinary school in Paris. He describes his love for cooking as the "only socially acceptable fetish."
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