Increasing Student Civic Engagement with a Trip to the State Capitol
October 29, 2024
By Fabian Carballo, History and Political Science Professor
On Monday, October 21st, a group of LTCC students took a field trip to California’s State Capitol. The idea was born from Anthropology Instructor Melinda Button’s concern that the Society, Culture, and Education meta major (Brown) needed more hands-on experiences. LTCC’s proximity to two separate state capitals became an attractive idea for a student field trip. With the help of Laura Metune, Senior Director of Government Relations and Grant Development, a fruitful day in Sacramento was planned. Ms. Metune used to work at the Capitol and was instrumental in setting up the panelists and speakers. History and Political Science Professor, Fabian Carballo also recruited students and attended the field trip.
Students arrived very early for a Monday morning to make the trek to Sacramento. When we arrived, we had a chance to look around and get acquainted with the Capitol building. Many students said that this was their first trip to the capital of California. Throughout the day, we heard from various panels of speakers who specialize in higher education. The first panel consisted of Chris Ferguson and Mark Martin, two higher education budget specialists for the State of California. They spoke about their role with the community college budget and their career trajectories. Students were able to ask questions.
Subsequently, students were treated to lunch by the HSI office as they relocated to another hearing room on the first floor. After lunch, a second panel which consisted of panelists Kevin Powers, Olgalilia Ramirez, and Cynthia Yepez spoke about education policy and the day to day activities of their jobs. Once again, students were able to ask questions and get a feel for careers in education, policy, politics, and budgets and finance. The last panel was made up of higher education lobbyists Linda Vazquez, Nune Garipian, and Kristal Padilla. Students listened attentively as the lobbyists described their own educational journeys, with years as community college students, and their careers as lobbyists advocating for the California Community Colleges. Overall, the purpose of the trip was to increase civic engagement, give students some ideas for careers within our meta major, acquire a knowledge of how higher education budgets are done, understand the education policy process, and learn about the history of California’s State Capitol.
The day concluded with a photo op on the Assembly Floor arranged by Assemblymember Megan Dahle’s (District 1) office. Although the Legislature was not in session, the Assembly Floor welcomed our students by putting Lake Tahoe Community College on the floor’s marquee sign, a perfect background for a photo opportunity. Finally, the afternoon ended with a tour of the Capitol building where students were able to ask questions about Sacramento and the state’s capital in general, admire the architecture and art, and walk through the governors’ portrait hall. Certainly, students had a great hands-on learning experience and enjoyed a day of learning. We hope to be able to do this more often.