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Each student's initiative and drive has resulted in up-front access at the Democratic and Republican national conventions.

By Rebecca Ruiz-McGill,
August 22, 2008

Two University of Arizona students are playing an active part in this year’s presidential elections and will share their experiences while they attend the upcoming national conventions.

Isabel Shelton, a UA honors student and political science sophomore with an emphasis in international studies, will attend the Democratic National Convention from Monday through Thursday as an event organizer. Sara Pat Badgley, a UA interdisciplinary studies and family studies senior, will attend the Republican National Convention with full media credentials Sept 1-4.

Both students will share their observations and experiences via written and video updates from the convention floor. Their stories will appear on UANews.org.

Shelton began her work with the Barack Obama campaign when she spoke with field organizers on the UA Mall this past spring. She was immediately recruited to help register voters in the Tucson and campus communities.

She worked 40-plus unpaid hours a week for the campaign and quickly earned an invitation to apply to work as a field organizer in Colorado over the summer.

In Colorado, Shelton dedicated six weeks of unpaid time to the campaign, paying for her own travel and meals. She found her fluency in Spanish to be “an asset in a swing state with many unregistered voters and independents,” Shelton said.

Shelton clearly has caught the political bug and looks forward to continuing her support for the campaign in the fall.

“I will be working most of the time I am at the convention but am happy to share my experience with the UA community,” she said.

Badgley leaves for the Republican National Convention armed with a background in communication, journalism and political science. She grew up in Yuma with a family that was into politics and wasted no time continuing that tradition on the UA campus and beyond.

Badgley arrives at the Republican National Convention courtesy of the online social networking site MySpace and its “Decision08 Convention Contest."

Badgley was awarded free travel and lodging along with an invitation to cover the convention with full press credentials by creating a video that answered the question "How will you stand out in the crowd and get the scoop no one else can?"

Out of the hundreds of entries received, five finalists were selected and nearly 50,000 votes were cast by MySpace users, who named Badgley as their choice to cover the Republican National Convention.

“I heard about the contest and I figured that somebody has to win so I made a video,” Badgley said. She used her experience in working at UATV to produce and edit the winning video.

As part of the prize package, Badgley will be featured in convention coverage on MSNBC and msnbc.com. “I’ll be able to see how people prepare as political journalists and can learn from the best in the business,” Badgley added.

Badgley interned for U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., in the fall of 2007 and is currently an intern for Arizona State Senate President Tim Bee.

Both students are active in the UA department of political science.

“I am very excited for Sara Pat and Isabel," said Pam Coonan, the internship coordinator for the political science department.

"Their selection to attend the conventions is a testament to their hard work and dedication to their political causes. This is a fantastic opportunity for them professionally and personally. I look forward to following their experiences at the conventions,” Coonan said. “Their experiences demonstrate how vital it is for students to make personal and professional connections by participating in internship programs or volunteering.”