On Feb. 17, high school juniors and seniors from across northern New Mexico convened at the University of New Mexico for the 29th Annual Student Leadership Institute (SLI). This half-day conference was founded in 1988 by New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman and is now run by New Mexico Senator Tom Udall. Throughout the morning students attend seminars on national policy matters that are run by Udall and his staff. Students elect to attend three sessions, which they choose from six policy areas: Economic Development, Immigration Reform, Energy and Environment, Healthcare, National Security, and Budget Priorities.
John Chappell ’15 attended the conference and went to the National Security, Immigration Reform, and Economic Development seminars. “Udall’s advisers presented us with scenarios and asked us to respond to those scenarios as policy makers,” he said. “For example, in National Security we talked about a fictional Iranian scenario and we talked about [nuclear] proliferation and relations with the P5+1 and Israel.”
Beyond the policy discussions, Chappell said the conference further encouraged him to pursue a career in government. “I want to major in international relations and one of the career paths that I am considering—more seriously considering after the Institute—is working on Capitol Hill, possibly as an adviser,” Chappell said. “It’s definitely a major option for me, especially after seeing the process [at the conference].”
The Academy is eligible to send up to three students each year to the conference, and the day is free. Chappell says the conference was engaging and he recommends it to students next year. “There was an introductory lecture, but pretty quickly after that we went into a simulation,” he said. “It was interesting.” In addition, Chappell said he enjoyed the question and answer session with Udall at the end of the conference. “It was a really good opportunity to hear about his personal views on things,” he said. “So that was nice, being able to interact with him.”
For more information, visit Senator Udall’s website.
