I thought that today went very well, and I enjoyed it very much. I thought the group of officials was well picked and the right number, but it would have been cool to hear from a campaign staff member as well. I found it interesting that Reginald Finney was able to win his election with only $499. Even though it is nearly impossible, I know I would want to spend that type of money in an election if I ran. I thought the reasoning behind running for office was inspiring. I liked how Finney saw a need for black representation and took the initiative to do so, and I was inspired by Tracy when she ran against her own party as an individual. Overall, I thought all of the officials displayed the different levels of government well and were very open and honest. In regards to the last question, even though I have no idea what I am going to do in life, being a politician or staff member interests me. I think I am open to getting a degree in political science and being a staff member if I found a candidate I respected. If I was going to become a candidate myself, I think I would still want to pursue a political science degree even though I saw that it is not necessary. I say this because I think I would feel out of control of my own campaign. Even though I believe staff members are important and necessary for candidates to win, I also believe that they can hold too much power in the campaign process. I think that candidates can only lead their staff if they also have a background in political science. This background would turn the campaign manager into an adviser instead of  a manager. Even though there are plenty of unique and great officials without a political science degree, I believe it would aid the transition from a citizen to an elected official. In the end, the day was great. I loved the panel and the campaign videos. I am looking forward to tomorrow! 🙂