Five interviews with younger politicians

In the last six weeks I had 30(ish) minute conversations with a number of state legislators about ways to increase trust in higher education. While these lawmakers represent different areas of the country and are from different political parties, all are under the age of 30. From youngest to oldest, they include (links to inteviews):

• Representative Valerie McDonnell, age 21, of New Hampshire: https://youtu.be/WE9HmOP-OvY
• Representative Brad Fritts, age 25, of Illinois: https://youtu.be/SbQHr12TJjI
• Senator Amber Hulse, age 27, of South Dakota: https://youtu.be/u7w-l_n2-DM
• Delagate Joe Vogel, age 28, of Maryland: https://youtu.be/dZEfGknENso
• Representative Spencer Igo, age 29, of Minnesota: https://youtu.be/SJo3_Sd-qS4

While our conversations covered a lot of ground, I made it a point to ask each of these lawmakers the following questions:

• Tell your story: How did you get into elected politics and become a lawmaker? What has your personal experience with universities/higher ed been like?
• You, like me, are age 30 and younger. By the time you and I are expected to die, some 40+ years from now, what would you like higher education in your state to look like? In America writ-large?
• It is easy to critique and hard to build. It is also easy to identify what separates people. So instead I want to ask, what are the areas for common ground that you see among lawmakers and professors/administrators when it comes to rebuilding the public's trust in higher education? How would you like us to work together?

The interviews are embedded below: