{"id":17300,"date":"2022-10-07T12:00:17","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T16:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/english\/?p=17300"},"modified":"2022-12-02T15:38:54","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T20:38:54","slug":"ball-state-grad-on-using-humanities-skills-in-the-political-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/english\/blog\/2022\/10\/07\/ball-state-grad-on-using-humanities-skills-in-the-political-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Ball State Grad on Using Humanities Skills in the Political Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

Levi Todd is a proud Ball State English alum from the class of 2017. After working in nonprofits for 4 years after graduation, they <\/span><\/span>transitioned to politics as Field Director on soon-to-be Congresswoman <\/span><\/span>Delia Ramirez<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u2018s winning campaign. <\/span><\/span><\/em>They currently serve as Field Director for\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Carlos Ramirez-Rosa<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Daniel La Spata\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/a>s re-election campaigns for Chicago City Council. They are committed to supporting progressive candidates who use their offices for social change, and to building grassroots movements capable of holding their elected officials accountable. <\/span><\/span><\/em>Outside of politics, Levi is a lifelong Chicagoan and queer, nonbinary poet. You can read their work at <\/span><\/span>levitodd.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n

Read more<\/a> about Levi\u2019s first job after college with a nonprofit.<\/em><\/p>\n

Note: This interview was published by Kaitlyn Herrenbruck.<\/em><\/p>\n

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What did you study at Ball State and why?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

I was an English Major (General Studies concentration) and a Spanish minor. I took a smattering of English courses across the concentrations, which I feel like helped me be flexible and adaptable in my writing and comprehension skills. I originally chose English because I loved reading and creative writing, and then when I got to Ball State I realized how many other skills (editing, technical\/professional writing, public speaking) I learned in the major. I chose the Spanish minor because my hometown of Chicago has a large Spanish-speaking community and I wanted to move my conversational skills closer to fluency.<\/p>\n

What led you to your current job? <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

After I graduated in 2017, I spent 4 years working in the nonprofit sector doing domestic violence prevention work (which I previously wrote another blog post about<\/a>). At the same time that I was spending my \u201c9-5\u201d in nonprofits, I had moved back to the neighborhood I grew up in and was getting more involved locally. I started volunteering with United Neighbors of the 35th Ward, a local independent political organization dedicated to engaging our community members in local politics and community organizing. This is where I got more familiar with local political campaigns and movement struggles to fight for affordable housing, funding for public schools, violence prevention, police accountability, and more.<\/p>\n

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Levi Todd<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2022, I started working full-time in political campaigns, specifically in \u201cfield\u201d work as a Field Director. A Field Director is someone who coordinates a campaign\u2019s volunteers to do voter outreach like door knocking, phone banking, and to generally reach voters about their message and platform. Most recently, I worked as Field Director on Delia Ramirez\u2019s campaign for Congress in the 3rd Illinois District, who just recently won her Democratic primary nomination and is on her way to a sure victory in the general election as the first Latina Congresswoman from the Midwest. I also volunteered for my dear friend Anthony Joel Quezda in his successful campaign for Cook County Commissioner. I am now serving as Field Director for Chicago City Council members Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and Daniel La Spata.<\/p>\n

When I explain to people that I work in politics, I often feel a need to clarify why, especially when people often hold (somewhat valid) negative or critical views of our political system and government at large. In Chicago, I find immense pride in the recent wave of progressive candidates who have been elected to a variety of local and state offices. These candidates that I support use their campaigns to confront corruption, elevate broader community struggles, and build coalitions that last long after the election. When elected, they use their government offices to serve the needs of the people\u2014from filling potholes, to helping survivors of domestic violence find shelter, to housing homeless neighbors, and more.<\/p>\n

What kinds of jobs are available in your field to people with degrees in English or the humanities? <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

I can\u2019t stress enough how well-suited English and Humanities majors are for Government and Politics. The skills that English majors bring\u2014interpersonal communication, writing for various audiences and platforms, public speaking, critical analysis\u2014are directly translatable to political campaigns and government work. There\u2019s a wide variety of political campaigns to elect candidates to office, unionize a workplace, pass a law, etc. The job opportunities across different types of campaigns are fairly similar.<\/p>\n