The Democratic National Convention will have a Ball State freshman in attendance this year.
Jason Pickell, a member of the Ball State University Democrats and a political science major, had the opportunity to be a delegate at the Charlotte, N.C., convention because of a Jefferson-Jackson dinner.
"It's a big honor for someone as young as I am to get the opportunity to attend such a prestigious and noble event," Pickell said. "Most of the delegates here are well established within their respective areas, and to me, being kind of a newcomer to it all, it's a big honor to be able to attend."
After his invitation, Pickell, who is from Plymouth, Ind., had to run in the second district by South Bend. He then had to send around 400 letters to state delegates who voted for him.
Pickell said he will attend the youth caucus meeting, where he will discuss how young people can get involved in politics.
Speakers at the convention this year include former President Bill Clinton, Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.
"It's going to give me a lot of insight to the inner workings of the Democratic Party and politics," Pickell said. "I'm going to see firsthand how things are run behind the scenes and gain that experience, which I can use in the future to run further elections and maybe myself running for office someday.
"And it's going to be a great story to tell my kids as well," Pickell said.
The College Democrats of America held its convention during the weekend also in Charlotte, right before the national convention.
A group of students from the Ball State University Democrats traveled to North Carolina for the convention that provided them a time to meet with other chapters across the country to network and share ideas.
"[It's] about getting the youth really involved," Drew Farrington, president of University Democrats, said. "The College Democrats basically organize a game plan for the election, talking about strategies and best practices. It's a kind of summit where all the leadership can really talk and figure out what works from their staff and ways we can improve."
Farrington, along with five other students from Ball State, left Thursday for the four-day convention.
"It was really nice because it was a big bonding experience," Farrington said. "And we got to see a lot of really awesome speakers there that really got us fired up to really get out there and work for our candidates and really try and just do what's best for this country."
The speakers this year included DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Kevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento, Calif.
Emily Rodriguez, University Democrats vice president, said Ball State's chapter has a strong connection to the chapters from Purdue University, Indiana University and Earlham College.
"It's great to see the efforts that they're making and what we can learn from it and just do better," Rodriguez said. "[It's] kind of like a collaboration and an exchanging of ideas."
With all of the conversations surrounding legislations that weakened Democrats' union and women's rights, Rodriguez said the convention was a good time to summarize the issues they have been facing.
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