Class of 2024, Student Managing Editor, College Editorial Team
Most people, let alone college students, can’t say they’ve introduced a congressman or former Speaker of the House, attended a mayoral forum with a professional journalist or taken a former governor out to dinner. But responsibilities like these are all in a week’s work for the student Fellows and Event Ambassadors at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics (IOP).
These student leaders are part of a team integral to the IOP that also includes staff and student interns that make IOP-sponsored events on campus a reality.
Event Ambassadors are responsible for helping organize events and panels that are part of the Speaker Series program that features elected officials, policy experts, journalists and more. Ambassadors, part of the Pritzker Fellows Program, facilitate office hours and seminars with Pritzker Fellows, career professionals from various political fields who come to campus for a quarter to take a deep dive into their field of expertise.
“The Pritzker Fellows Program is a major driver of all we do here at the IOP, feeding our Speakers Program, connecting us with employment partners for our internship program, enriching our civic engagement opportunities and providing students with weekly insights into the world of the possible in politics and policy,” said Jennifer Steinhauer, Director of the Speaker Series and Pritzker Fellows Programs. “The Speakers program brings the world to campus, providing real time engagement with some of the best minds in public life and the reporters who cover them for our community. None of this would be possible without the incredible and highly engaged student ambassadors, who support our programs at every iteration.”
Ambassadors at the IOP not only ensure that these events run smoothly, but also receive the unique opportunity to connect one-on-one with well-known politicians and policy experts. They cite these interactions with individuals who inspire them as not just a major perk of the job, but a formative experience as they navigate their future career options.
The College sat down with a few of them to get an inside look into what they do and how they help facilitate panels, conferences, seminars and more.
Speaker Series and Event Ambassadors
Event Ambassadors assist with Speaker Series programming. These panels bring in elected officials, journalists, diplomats and technical experts for moderated discussions on topics from international affairs to local politics to fashion and media images. Event Ambassadors set up chairs and banners, check in all attendees, ensure that the space is clean afterwards and write thank-you notes to speakers.
Event Ambassadors sign up for one of three shifts: set-up, check-in or clean-up, though many choose to attend the event itself, as well. They are generally expected to work at least one shift per week, depending on the number of ambassadors and whether they are needed. Event Ambassadors apply and interview for the role on a quarterly basis, but many reapply throughout the year.
According to the Ambassadors, one of the main benefits of Speaker Series events is the ability to hear political figures and policy experts speak candidly on issues and respond to student questions.
Isabella Dowgiallo, a rising second-year student intending to major in global studies and public policy who has been an Event Ambassador since fall 2022, said that the Q&A portion of events is one of her favorite parts of the program for that reason.
“It’s a really unique opportunity to hear these people talk about topics you’re interested in,” Dowgiallo said. “When else are you ever going to speak to Nancy Pelosi and ask her a question?”
Ana Lucía Michielsen, another rising second-year student majoring in molecular engineering who has also been an ambassador since fall 2022, feels the same way. Her fondest memories include introducing a panel featuring former Congressman Tim Ryan, with whom she had the opportunity to speak before the event, and helping set up the 2024 Campaign Journalism Conference hosted by the IOP.
Dowgiallo said these programs seek to facilitate meaningful disagreement between individuals with different political leanings. The IOP recently began a series called “Counterpoint” to encourage this sort of discussion.
“They had one recently about capital punishment, featuring the former Governor of Arkansas and the former Governor of Oregon,” Dowgiallo said. “It was a surprisingly civil discussion, with a moderator who was just trying to get to the bottom of their viewpoints and why they feel the way they do.”
Michielsen also said she appreciates that Speaker Series programming brings very different types of professionals together.
“I think [Speaker Series] brings big and small names to campus in a way that familiarizes you with the stratosphere of politics,” Michielsen said. “For example, when you bring someone like Pelosi, everyone knows her, so you have a sense for what kinds of things she will speak on, giving students a lot of interesting analysis opportunities.”
Michielsen said she is particularly interested in events that allow students to learn about politics in a non-traditional way. She gave a recent event called “Dress Code: The Politics of Style,” as an example, saying that unlike the more specialized panels that can feel quite technical and unfamiliar, this event centered around fashion.
“It was a very approachable way to have a political conversation and think about the role of media images and the way people are presenting themselves,” she said.
Isabella Dowgiallo handing a student a microphone at "A Woman's Place is in the House," an event featuring U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
(Photo by Dani Salazar)
Dowgiallo and Michielsen said another benefit of the program is connecting with like-minded students.
“There's a lot of people like me who are majoring in something completely different but are interested in politics, and this is a really wonderful way to connect with them, especially for someone who isn't necessarily in the politics classes," Michielsen said.
Fellows Ambassadors
Fellows Ambassadors also work with prominent politicians, journalists and more, albeit in a different setting. These students work with the IOP’s Pritzker Fellows, who hold seminars and office hours over the course of a quarter.
Ambassadors work on a team of three to four people–including a team leader–who are typically assigned one Fellow per quarter. They also apply quarterly and must interview for the position. Students who have previously been ambassadors can apply to be team leaders.
Ambassadors attend and prepare for the Fellow’s weekly seminars, as well as prepare Pritzker Fellows for office hours, keep time and ensure that students are in the right place for their office hours slot. They also publicize their Fellow’s events via social media and word-of-mouth and network on campus to find other opportunities and RSOs for Pritzker Fellows to speak at. Team leaders also have weekly meetings with their interns and are responsible for managing the rest of their ambassador team.
Chris Lee, a rising fourth-year student double majoring in political science and creative writing, came to the College looking for a way to get involved in politics, and was directed to the Speaker Series events and Pritzker Fellows program (both of which were virtual at the time due to COVID-19).
After attending a few seminars, he decided to apply to be an ambassador for winter 2021. This past year, he served as a team leader.
One experience that fostered his appreciation for the IOP was a virtual conversation he attended during fall 2020 between former Pritzker Fellows Addisu Demissie and Scott Jennings, Democratic and Republican political strategists, respectively.
"It was a big reason why I decided to engage [with the IOP],” Lee said. “They disagreed on a lot of things, for sure, but at the end of the day, the Fellows will talk about their positions on things. They're never shy about that, but it's never in a way that is trying to attack anyone else's position."
Nish Sinha, another rising fourth-year double majoring in economics and physics was a Fellows Ambassador during winter 2022 and is currently a team leader. The event that sparked his interest in the Pritzker Fellows Program was a conversation he attended in fall 2021 between former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and The Atlantic staff writer Clint Smith on their shared experiences of New Orleans, recovering from Hurricane Katrina and broader ideas about race.
Lee said one of his favorite experiences in the program was working with Chicago journalist Heather Cherone, who focused her seminars on the recent Chicago mayoral election. Cherone invited her Ambassadors–including Lee–to attend a mayoral forum hosted by her news outlet, WTTW News.
"We saw all the candidates there,” Lee said. “She was sitting next to us live-tweeting the whole event. It was incredible."
These experiences have opened up new career possibilities for Lee. While he remains undecided about his career path, he says that he has been inspired by the hopefulness of many elected officials that have come to the IOP. Also, having been an ambassador for three journalists this year– Cherone, Matt Yglesias and Astead Herndon–Lee is now considering journalism as a career option.
Similarly, Sinha said he initially planned to pursue a career in physics, but has since discovered a passion for “improving lives at a systemic level” through economic policy.
Both Lee and Sinha also cited the social experience of the program as a benefit. Not only does the team structure facilitate community between ambassadors, but the IOP also hosts informal gatherings for all Ambassadors. Teams often engage with their Pritzker Fellows in more social settings, such as taking them for tours around Hyde Park and sharing meals with them.
“The really cool parts are engaging with the Fellow outside of the formal IOP events, like taking the former Governor [Steve Sisolak of Nevada] out for dinner in Hyde Park, showing him the lakefront and campus and just chatting with him as a person, not just a political figure,” Sinha said.
Lee said intimate discussions in office hours, seminars and more at the IOP lead to a nuanced conversation that is not always possible in traditional politics.
"You can come to the table, and you don't have to say a single word if you don't want to,” Lee said. “But if there's an issue that's really pressing, you can ask them about it right there.”
“I didn’t necessarily go into UChicago as somebody who was the most politically engaged, I was interested and I just took the IOP and have grown with it,” Sinha said. “You learn how people’s personal identities and personalities have shaped their political careers, and it’s instilled a lot of confidence in me about how political change can be made.”
