Can you see yourself being so passionate about an issue that you try to shape how federal laws get made? Some Marymount students learned that, as citizens, they have more power than they thought, and that being next door to the nation’s capital certainly has its privileges.
It all started last summer, when a group of psychology majors traveled to Kenya for two study-abroad courses. They observed abnormal behavior in rescued chimpanzees and conducted community outreach to protect endangered species. The undergraduates developed such a strong interest in chimpanzee welfare, that they decided to do some community outreach right at home when they returned to campus.
So on a Friday morning at the start of fall semester, the group and Dr. Stacy Lopresti-Goodman, assistant professor of psychology, took a 20-minute Metro ride to Capitol Hill. There, they visited the offices of the two U.S. senators from Virginia, urging them to support bills now in Congress dealing with the protection of chimpanzees.
Psychology major Amanda Caperton ’13 says, “It was such an honor to be able to speak with the senators’ aides on an issue that is so important to me. It was also very inspiring to be around people who have such a direct impact on social and political change. My eyes are opened to career possibilities I had never considered.”