Being a Teen Leader in RAC-PA

My name is Amelia Goode and I am an aspiring Public Policy major at the University of Virginia. My interest in policy stemmed from a deep passion for social justice, and with that, my experience getting involved in promoting important pieces of legislation through the Religious Action Center of Pennsylvania. 

My involvement with the RAC began with the RAC Teen Justice Fellowship in my freshman year of high school. During the fellowship, I gained a lot of valuable experience learning about different issues that impact the United States today as well as how to take action on them. I learned all of the quintessential tips and tricks of community organizing, which came in handy as I planned and facilitated different events throughout my high school experience and into college. For instance, as my culminating project for the fellowship, I hosted a virtual phonebanking event where I gathered a group of people together to lobby against voter suppression tactics. This experience taught me what worked and what did not when it came to community organizing and thus improved my leadership skills.

Little did I know that my involvement with the RAC Teen Justice Fellowship, which operated at the national level, would lead me to become much more closely involved with the RAC at the state level. A few months after finishing the fellowship, I received an email inviting former fellows from Pennsylvania to get involved with RAC-PA. I eagerly embraced the opportunity, and it became a defining aspect of my high school experience and future goals.

When I first started working with RAC-PA, hardly any teenagers were involved with the organization. With the help of a mentor, Rachel Beck, our small base spent months working on efforts to mobilize more teens. Rachel and I worked together to plan events that would draw in more young adults, and, using our connections with friends and local congregations, we were even able to develop a RAC-PA Teens leadership team. 

I was not only involved with the developing youth sector of RAC-PA. I was also a part of the Campaign and Leadership Teams, which included a variety of Jewish adults from congregants to clergy. This gave me valuable practice communicating with people of different backgrounds, ages and experiences that will be vital in my field. 

Working with RAC-PA has been instrumental to my college experience and preparation for a career. It taught me how to mobilize people towards a cause, handle setbacks and stand up as a leader even when it seemed isolating. It also contributed to my knowledge of the policy system and the different factors that go into the passage of legislation. I know that the hands-on experience that RAC-PA gave me will prove invaluable given my Public Policy major. No matter where my future takes me, I know that just like in RAC-PA, my passion for making the United States a more equal and just place will keep me grounded in advocating for the policies about which I care.