Brunswick School Board student liaison Julia Brown participates in discussion with board members, from left, Michelle Small, Rich Ellis and Brenda Clough at a recent budget hearing. Today, Brown was named the state’s Youth Volunteer of the Year as part of the Governor’s Awards for Service and Volunteerism in Augusta. (Darren Fishell / The Times Record)
But not for the current Congress.
Brown traveled to the nation’s capital in March as part of the U.S. Senate Youth Program, joining 103 other youth delegates from around the country.
“We came to the hardest realization that we are the generation of recovery,” Brown said. “We will be paying more and receiving less — and that may seem like a bleak future, but it’s more of an honor. I think we are going to be a really important part of American history.”
Brown was one of two delegates from Maine, joining Adam Cohen of Scarborough alongside a varied group of students that she said spanned the political spectrum, including some who eschewed party politics and party lines.
“If a bunch of 17-year-olds can get along in debates about the debt and find compromise within ourselves, so should Congress,” Brown said.
The decision by Sen. Olympia Snowe not to seek re-election because she no longer wants to engage in divisive political squabbles, Brown said, “really speaks to the political climate now.”
But based on her experience with the other youth delegates, Brown said that can change. So can other aspects of Congress.
Out of 104 youth delegates, 37 were female, Brown said. Today, there are 17 women in the Senate.
While Brown said part of her time was spent explaining feminism to some male delegates who she said had an extreme idea of gender equality, the mere fact that they could discuss the issue openly encouraged her.
“We’re thinking about the future,” Brown said.
Brown said Maine’s two female senators presented a particular point of pride, leading back to her favorite Maine leader, Margaret Chase Smith, who, in Brown’s view, inaugurated a line of moderate Maine senators who were well known among her peers.
“Everyone knew our senators,” said Brown, who described herself as tending toward more liberal political views. “They’re the only moderate Republicans left and that gave me a lot of Maine pride.”
During the week-long conference, Brown introduced Sen. Collins to the rest of the youth delegation.
Aside from the youth delegates, Brown met a host of dignitaries on the trip, including President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. Panetta shared advice that stuck with Brown: Being a successful leader comes down to the ability to make tough decisions.
As a student liaison member of the Brunswick School Board, Brown said she’s seen that play out at every level of government.
“The most important job is taking whatever the state or federal government throws at you and making it work for your local community,” Brown said.
After graduation in June, Brown plans to study a mix of political science, public policy, women and gender studies and government at a college in New England for a career “probably in education,” she said.
As for politics, she said she has no current aspirations, but the thought of Sen. Susan Collins retiring did spark her interest.
“If I was a staffer with Collins and she retired, I would totally go for her seat,” Brown said.
dfishell@timesrecord.com
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