On February 11th, the Student Alumni Association joined other students, faculty, and alumni on a monumental trip to the Oregon state capital. We joined together with other public universities in Oregon to make our voices heard and collectively fight for higher education funding in key programs at our schools.

Arriving in Salem around 9:00 a.m., the day started with a rally on the Capitol steps, followed by meetings with legislators to discuss the importance of funding higher education in Oregon. We divided by district into teams to visit with our Senators and Representatives. Even our president, Michael Schill, was in attendance! One of the SAA interns who attended the event, Forrest Murphy, was lucky enough to meet with Representative Lively, Barnhart, and Senator Beyer. Here's what he had to say about his experience:

As an intern for the Student Alumni Association, it was an honor to be included in the Higher Education Day at the Capitol event. It was a great experience to talk to the Senators and Representatives that are responsible for passing new laws in our state.

I got to meet Senator Beyer first and ask him what he thought about higher funding for key educational programs in our state. He gave some great insight, and had a few minutes to chat. After meeting Senator Beyer, I was lucky enough to chat with Representative Barnhart. Representative Barnhart was a joyful man who talked to me about the University of Oregon, gave me some key business tips, and discussed the issue of  higher funding in Oregon's public universities. I also got to meet Representative Lively. I had more time to talk to Representative Lively and hear about why the issue of higher education funding was so important.

It was truly amazing getting to meet some of our elected officals, and I will never forget the advice that they gave me. Higher Education Day at the Capitol was definitely not an event to miss out on!

After a day filled with meeting different key lawmakers, our group reconvened to connect about what was discussed before making our way back to Eugene around 4:30 p.m. Some would describe the day as exhausting, but worth every minute. We were all extremely happy our voices were heard in a place that could be beneficial and helpful to not only our future, but those of younger generations.