Rezarta Haxhillari (University of Michigan-Dearborn, 2008. Age 21)
Rezarta, who is originally from Albania, is studying Marketing and Political Science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Rezarta is committed to values of diversity and positive social change. She is an active leader on her campus through her involvement with the Student Government and American Marketing Association. She also served as the president of the Albanian-American student organization for two years. As part of this group, Rezarta helped raise money to fly a young Albanian child suffering from cystic fibrosis to America in order to receive adequate treatment.  She will be the Student Body Vice President this fall.  Rezarta is interning at Progressive Majority this summer.

Isabel Jones (University of Washington, 2008. Age 20)
Isabel is currently studying Communications and International Relations at the University of Washington. She is a firm believer in the political process as a way to make social change. Last year, working for the Democratic Coordinated Campaign in Washington, Isabel became the youngest Field Organizer in the state.  The victory of Senator Maria Cantwell confirmed Isabel’s strong belief in the possibility of progressive change.  Currently, Isabel is a Legislative Intern for Senator Cantwell.  At the University of Washington, Isabel is a member of the College Democrats and Coalition Against Genocide in Darfur.   She is interning this summer at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Melanie Kendrick (University of Notre Dame, 2007. Age 21)
Melanie Kendrick is studying American Studies at Notre Dame University. An aspiring attorney, she is interested in issues relating to education and how different educational environments dramatically affect young people’s lives.  Melanie is also passionate about social justice issues and government reform. Since 2004, Melanie has been a certified tutor for S.O.A.R.  During high school, Melanie formed a chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving on her campus in order to raise awareness about the need for young people to make the right decisions.  Melanie will be working at Campaign for America’s Future this summer.

Eric Lee (Harvard College, 2008. Age 21)
Eric Lee, a first generation American, is majoring in Social Studies and Chinese at Harvard. He has a strong interest in US foreign policy and politics. He is a member of the Harvard College Democrats and served on the Student Advisory Committees to Congressman Mike Honda and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.  Eric is also the Managing Editor of the Harvard International Review. Since 2005, Eric has served as a citizenship instructor for recent immigrants seeking US citizenship. He has previously interned with the U.S. State Department and CA Assemblymember Rebecca Cohn.  He will be interning at Campaign for America’s Future this summer.

Nicholle Manners (Yale University, 2009. Age 19)
Nicholle, a first generation American, is studying political science at Yale University. She is interested in minority representation issues and has aspirations to run for public office. Last summer, she interned with the New Jersey Department of State. She has served as chair for various international relations collegiate conferences and is part of the Yale International Relations Association (YIRA). She is also a Yale Daily News Staff Reporter. Nicholle will be interning at the Truman National Security Project.

Amy Moore (Humboldt State University, 2008. Age 31)
Amy is studying Women’s Studies at Humboldt State University. She is currently the founder and co-Executive Director of the Humboldt Gender Project. In addition, she serves on the Humboldt State University Curriculum Committee and works with many other campus and community organizations fighting for the rights of those who do not fit into the binary gender system of male and female.  Amy is currently working with the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition’s peer2peer project and California expansion starting this summer. She has been working on queer rights activism for almost 15 years and works with many local and national organizations.  She will be spending the summer at GenderPAC.

Guadalupe Mota (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008. Age 20)
Guadalupe, originally from Mexico, is double majoring in Chemistry and Biology with a minor in Spanish Literature at MIT.  While growing up in Mexico, Guadalupe experienced the results of an inadequate healthcare system. For this reason, he is very passionate about healthcare reform.  He aspires to earn an MD as well as a JD in order to practice medicine and later enact more humanistic health care policies.  Currently, Guadalupe is president of GaMIT, the LBGTQ group at MIT, and the president of Hunger Action Group, a group that combats hunger in the Boston area.  He has done research on the impact of immigration on the U.S. economy at the Sloan Business School and is an EMT serving the Cambridge area.  This summer he will be interning at the American Democracy Institute.

Dennis Nelson (Dickinson College, 2007. Age 22)
Dennis is a recent graduate of Dickinson College, where he received a degree in Policy Management and Religion. He is very passionate about education, poverty, the economy, and the criminal justice system. Next year, he will be participating in Young People For’s Leadership Academy. He is interning at People for the American Way this summer.

Uchenna Ofodile (Temple University, 2008. Age 21)
Uchenna is currently studying political science at Temple University. She is very passionate about education issues and plans to work on educational reform. Recently, Uchenna been an intern for Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz and assisted in fundraising programs and compiling research data. She has also interned with the Free Library of Philadelphia. She is part of the Pre-Law Society and Organization for African Students at Temple. She will be working with Campaign for America’s Future this summer.

Aysha Pamucku (Stanford University, 2007. Age 21)
Aysha is a recent graduate of Stanford University, where she received a degree in Political Science and English. She is very passionate about women’s issues and believes in the power of alliance and diversity as a means towards progressive social change. Recently, Aysha was selected as a Stanford Public Service Law Fellow and had the opportunity to intern with the Pro Bono Project Silicon Valley. This position allowed her to help victims of domestic violence connect with volunteer attorneys. She has also been a student board member of the Asian American Journalist Association and a student researcher at the Dr. Martin Luther King Papers Project at Stanford. She will be interning at the Wallace Global Fund this summer.