My educational choice journey began with my parents, Mike and Carolyn, and my beloved Nana. They paid my way through catholic school in Indiana, first at St. Matthew Cathedral School and later Mishawaka Marian High School. That’s where my love of politics began. After my Nana took me on a trip to Italy when I was in 8th grade, I started reading the national and world section of the South Bend Tribune, looking for any references to Italy.
Fast forward to 2011. That was the year I started working in the office of Governor Mitch Daniels and the state passed the Choice Scholarship Program. At the time, it was the country’s largest voucher program. As you can imagine, it was all-hands-on-deck to pass the governor’s legislative agenda.
I helped where I could and listened to the arguments on both sides. I determined that I wanted to be on the team where we advocated to give students and families more options that worked best for them. From there, Robert Enlow took a chance on me, and I was hired to join The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. From Rhode Island to Alaska, I worked tirelessly to inform legislators and groups across the country about the power of educational freedom. Today, I’m researching, writing and advancing educational choice policies through my work at ExcelinEd.
My parents had choices for my education, ones that came with personal sacrifice. It is my hope that we can provide those same choices to every student, in every state across the country.
