Democratic Convention a Fulfilling Experience for UA Student

Isabel Shelton

Isabel Shelton

Isabel Shelton reports in to share her experience at the DNC.

By Rebecca Ruiz-McGill, UANews August 27, 2008

Isabel Shelton, a sophomore University of Arizona honors student and political science major with an emphasis in international studies, is working at the Democratic National Convention, which began Aug. 25, as an event organizer.

"I've been working the Obama table at the convention for about three days now and all the work that we've done for so long to encourage turnout seems to be manifesting multifold," she said.

On the second day of the convention, Shelton attended a roundtable on the economy hosted by Sen. Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama. "To the audience's surprise, Michelle Obama assumed the stage and announced a guest speaker and introduced Joe Biden," Shelton said.

The roundtable included Michelle Obama and four women governors, including Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.

Click here to view some photos from Shelton taken at the Democratic National Convention.

"The whole experience reminded me about why I'm here. The opportunity to work to make things better is both overwhelming and exciting at the same time," Shelton said.

Shelton is looking forward to the event's grand finale. The Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, will deliver his acceptance speech at Invesco Field on Thursday. "I'm so very thrilled to be in attendance," she said.

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.

Shelton dedicated six weeks of unpaid time to the campaign, paying for her own travel and meals.

She has been working nearly 18-hour days during the convention but has been sharing photos and personal observations with the UA community.

Sara Pat Badgley, a UA interdisciplinary studies and family studies senior, will attend the Republican National Convention from Sept 1-4 and will share her experiences via UANews.org.