Don’t Mess with Women in Texas Politics

Students practicing their networking

Elect Her–Campus Women Win at the University of Texas, Arlington, proved that everything is bigger in Texas. The group of over 50 participants has big dreams as they run for office.

Opening the training with all the reasons women should run for office, we talked about the fact that women typically have to be asked to run seven more times than their male counterparts before they’ll do it. So, we kicked off the day by asking everyone to run — our first of seven asks throughout the evening!

Texas state Rep. Paula Pierson shared her amazing stories about winning her seat in the legislature. She encouraged networking, networking, networking, and getting involved in the community in every way possible. She also reminded us that the key is to start young and not to be afraid to focus on our professional lives. Women have many more opportunities to grow our careers than we did in the past, so we should take advantage and do what we love.

Melanie Johnson, Jennifer Fox, and Paula Pierson

Jennifer Fox and Melanie Johnson were a powerhouse team who talked about the process of running for office at UT Arlington. Johnson is a former president of the Student Congress and Fox is the external relations director. They helped the group understand what a simple process the elections can be and emphasized the importance of creating a team of friends and volunteers to help spread the word. Johnson told us that she won her election by talking to groups outside of her own clubs and dorm. She also made sure all of the organizations on campus heard from her before the other candidates — so get started as early as possible!

Reace Alvarenga-Smith, public relations manager for Texas Health Resources, was the final speaker. She gave an amazing talk about how to give a presentation and market your campaign. Alvarenga-Smith is a UT alumna and held political office at the school when she was a student. She gave great examples of how to make your name memorable — in her case she gave out Reese’s Pieces! She also encouraged seeking out community resources for fundraising and covering any costs associated with running. She found a local copy store that donated materials in exchange for having their logo on her signs. Alvarenga-Smith also reminded us how important it is to present ourselves in a polished and personable way as we are meeting people around campus.

The session wrapped up with everyone developing their own elevator speech, keeping in mind the issues important to other students and their own campaigns. The students then broke into groups and tried out their new speeches. With helpful feedback from their peers, they sounded ready to run by the end of the session!

AAUW members and the dean of students arrived to applaud the attendees at the close of the program. I am thrilled to hear that most of the students from the session have decided to run this election cycle! Hook ‘em Horns! I can’t wait to see you in Washington some day.

This post was written by Running Start board member Marjorie Clifton of Clifton Consulting LLC.