Electing to enhance their job prospects

Midterm elections are coming up, and a new U.S. president will be voted into office in just two years. While many voters dread the aggressive political campaigning that is sure to come, some students at the University of Iowa use the opportunity to advance their careers.

That’s what Jimmy Centers did. The 2009 UI graduate turned his student volunteer work with Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign into a job as field director for Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s 2010 election bid. In December 2013, he was appointed as the governor’s director of communications.

The political science major credits the experiences he had in the UI community with preparing him for and steering him to a job that he loves.

UI graduate Jimmy Centers (back, fourth from right) helped organize a campus visit by 2008 presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani (center). Photo courtesy of Jimmy Centers.

“It was a thrill as a young college student to have the opportunity to give Rudy a bump in the polls and in the presidential race in Iowa. Even though it didn’t work out for him, the experience really helped me in my career,” says Centers, whose campaign duties ranged from making phone calls and knocking on doors to organizing a campus appearance by the former New York City mayor that drew 700 people. “The UI campus—anywhere in the state, really—is a great place to be during election season. You get to be up close with presidential candidates. I definitely caught the political bug at Iowa.”

With its first-in-the-nation caucuses, the state is a prime target for those vying for a presidential nomination. They attend small gatherings in people’s homes, take questions during appearances at area high schools and college campuses, and eat slices of pie at local diners—a phenomenon Centers says he had not experienced growing up in Peoria, Illinois.

Tim Hagle, associate professor of political science and longtime faculty adviser for the student organization College Republicans, says election season in Iowa can be beneficial to students of all majors.

“There are plenty of chances for students to become engaged and active in politics of one sort or another—whether it’s going to hear a campus speaker addressing world issues or getting involved with any number of political groups,” he says. “Many presidential candidates look to hire people familiar with the state, so students have an advantage there. But even for those not interested in a political career, campaign work can help them make contacts, build their résumé, and develop job skills.”

Andrea Jansa also studied political science at Iowa and graduated in 2007. Though her job as a research analyst for the Iowa House Democrats is not political in nature, she says volunteering on former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver’s campaign during her senior year stoked an interest in government and political engagement.

As a student, UI graduate Andrea Jansa (center) volunteered for former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver’s campaign as well as Barack Obama’s first presidential election. Photo courtesy of Andrea Jansa.

“At the time, then-senator Obama was starting to make appearances in Iowa. I read his book and decided I might volunteer if he ran for president. In March 2007, he opened an office in Iowa City,” says Jansa, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native who became an intern for the Obama campaign and served as its liaison to the Greek community on campus. “I got to meet Sen. Obama three or four times when he came to town.”

After graduation, Jansa reached out to her college roommate’s father, who works as a lobbyist in Des Moines, and that led to a position clerking for Iowa Sen. Rob Hogg. In her current position, she serves 47 elected officials by providing them with information on subjects ranging from transportation policy and fuel taxes to hunting and fishing regulations.

“My job is very satisfying. I learn new things every day, and I get to pull that information into communications for both our representatives and their constituents,” says Jansa, who was included in the [Des Moines] Business Record’s 2014 list of “Forty Under 40” for career achievement and community involvement. “Volunteering with a campaign may mean doing work not everyone wants to do—door-knocking, for example, can be intimidating—but it helped teach me how to build relationships and provided me with a lot of useful connections.”

In addition to the skills they picked up in the field, both Centers and Jansa say they learned valuable lessons in the classroom.

“I learned how to listen to others, especially in the class of [former] UI Professor David Redlawsk,” Centers explains. “He didn’t make it a secret that he was a Democrat, but he never let political affiliation get in the way of engaging his students and listening to their opinions in a respectful way. That kind of listening is critical in my current role—Gov. Branstad may be a Republican, but he serves all Iowans.”

Centers encourages students to consider getting involved this coming election season, whether through campus or civic organizations and regardless of party affiliation.

“Doing so can open doors—I’m a prime example of what can happen,” he says. “You’ve got to do in life what you love, and that’s what getting involved in politics did for me. I am fortunate to have had that experience at Iowa.”