On August 25, 2026, LEAP students had the opportunity to speak with Governor Greg Abbott regarding a new policy for higher education. At the SHSU Woodlands Center, Governor Abbott met with several Sam Houston State University students, including LEAP students, Orange Keys, and select nursing students, before holding a press conference to announce the Texas Summer Course Tuition Discount Program. Thanks to the effort and generosity of President White, the President’s Office, and the Governor’s team, the event went off without a hitch.
When we arrived at the Woodlands Center, we received a warm greeting from President White. Likely sensing our nerves, President White, Dr. Johnson, and Ms. Alexander were friendly and encouraging, helping us prepare and relax before the event officially began. After being directed upstairs, we had the opportunity to chat about upcoming LEAP events with Emily Binetti, SHSU Director of Content Communications, while we waited for the Orange Keys and nursing students to arrive.
During the first half hour, LEAP students had the chance to speak with Representatives Swanson, Toth, and Holt. At President White’s request, the representatives shared advice about preparing for our futures. They emphasized the importance of gaining real-world experience, as well as developing strong reading and writing skills. Their advice offered a valuable perspective on the skills students can develop now to prepare for their future careers.
When Governor Abbott entered, he was nothing less than kind and well-spoken. He informed us about his new policy, which provides discounts for students taking summer courses. The plan will offer a $500 discount for students taking one to five credit hours and a $1,000 discount for students taking six or more credit hours. He responded to our questions with genuine interest and explained the ideas behind the policy in clear, accessible terms, which we all appreciated. After approximately 30 minutes of conversation with the Governor, we had the opportunity to take pictures with him before the press conference began.
President White opened the press conference by thanking Governor Abbott and highlighting Sam Houston State University’s achievements. Governor Abbott then thanked the university, the students, and the Representatives in attendance before officially announcing the policy. Several Representatives also spoke during the conference, but one particular speaker was especially close to our hearts: our very own Ruthie Passmore.
Though her remarks were brief, Ruthie’s words were impactful and insightful. She discussed the challenges tuition can pose for students, drawing from her own experience. As a student responsible for financing her education, Ruthie explained that the cost of tuition has required her to work three jobs. Her perspective provided a personal reminder of why policies aimed at making higher education more affordable can have a meaningful impact on students.
Although our time with Governor Abbott was short, the experience was worthwhile. We were given a behind-the-scenes look at the Governor’s schedule and an opportunity to see politics in action. More importantly, we were able to speak directly with elected officials, ask questions, and hear advice that we can carry with us as we continue our education and prepare for our futures.
The advice we received from the Representatives, along with the opportunity to meet Governor Abbott face-to-face, made the experience one that each LEAP student will carry with them long after the event concluded.
Written By: Isis Hollis, Robin Houghton, and Allie Plunk
Throughout the conference, LEAP Ambassadors have had the opportunity to learn about policy from esteemed legislators and guest speakers, but on our last day, we got to experience a much more personal session, hearing from activist Elizabeth Smart, the CSG Justice Center on mental health, and attending the closing dinner.
Elizabeth Smart
Before we heard from today’s remarkable keynote speaker, there were a few mentions and introductions from Chair Senator Todd Weiler (UT) and Chair-Prospect Senator Löki Tobin (AK). Together, they previewed next year’s CSG West meeting, which will be taking place in Alaska! Following a short “sizzle reel” for the state, Chair Senator Todd Weiler (UT) introduced Elizabeth Smart.
Smart was abducted from her bedroom at the age of 14 and survived nine months in captivity before being rescued. Though it was law enforcement that put her captors behind bars, there would be no story to tell had it not been for her resilience. It was incredibly inspiring to hear her story, and how she pushed through the darkness around her by focusing on positivity. Even though terrible things were happening to her, she reminded herself constantly throughout her abduction that things could always be worse. It was this strategy, as well as remembering the unconditional love of her family, that kept her going.
Smart also touched on the incredible difficulty she had finding value within herself during and following her captivity. Because she hadn’t been taught the difference between consensual sex and rape, she felt like she had done something horrible. It took her a long time to be able to rationalize that she hadn’t been the one to do anything wrong. I appreciated her candor and that she made it clear that recovery after something so terrifying was a long process.
Now an advocate for safety and sexual assault victims, Smart has used what happened to her for as much good as she can. This resilience and compassion is something we all admired. She was an incredible speaker, and we felt honored to have been able to listen to her.
CSG Justice Center
Following Elizabeth Smart’s moving speech, we attended a session on the CSG Justice Center, and their approach to mental health advocacy. Ernest Stevens, former San Antonio police officer and Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) member, current Managing Director of Behavioral Health at the CSG Justice Center, Madeleine Dardeau, CSG Justice Center State Initiatives Program Director, and Leanne Huff, Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT) Act specialist, had a panel discussion about the implementation and development of MCOTs, as well as CIT Trainings and help line 988.
The key point was the pressing need for more CIT trained teams to go out and address people with mental health problems. Stevens stated that if you send an untrained officer to deal with mental health crises “there will always be a gun.” Many people struggling with mental health have been shot or killed by officers unable to deal with their problems, and this is exactly what the CSG Criminal Justice center is trying to stop. At the core of this session was a statistic: officers spend only 8 hours learning about mediation techniques, which is something they are supposed to use every day, as opposed to a whopping 20 hours learning to use a gun, which many officers only discharge a few times.
Another factor in this issue is the stigmatization of mental health problems. If we can make people unafraid to get the help they need, then we won’t have as many suicides or overdoses. This issue is becoming something that is particularly close to a few of our hearts, and we hope that in the future we can be a part of the solution.
Dinner
We ended the conference with fun in a closing dinner hosted at the Natural History Museum of Utah, which was just as beautiful of a venue as it was informative. After ascending the stairs, we were greeted with a wall of fossils, crystals, flora, and taxidermy that stretched from floor to ceiling, immediately captivating several Ambassadors.
The dinner also featured a local band, by the name of The Bombshell Flowers. A high-energy indie rock group, their layered harmonies added a relaxed, yet tasteful atmosphere.
For dinner, we had tri-tip steak, cauliflower, asparagus, mashed potatoes, and salad, followed by desserts of fruit tarts and banana pudding.
While the dinner was good, it was the museum that was truly memorable. We spent a lot of time exploring the exhibits, each highlighting an important aspect of Utah’s natural history. We even discovered that Allie is likely descended from the Allosaurus, which is where she gets her t-rex nature!
As we left, we managed to grab a shot of the breathtaking views from the museum terrace.
From dinosaurs to rock formations to earthquakes, Utah’s Natural History Museum was a wonderful place to close out the conference.
Conclusion
Our final conference day left us with a lot to think about, looking at the world through new eyes. We all admired the incredible work people like Elizabeth Smart and the CSG Criminal Justice Center are doing for those struggling with mental health and sexual assault.
Written By: Isis Hollis, Robin Houghton, Allie Plunk, and Jacob Wessels
LEAP Ambassadors had a wonderful second day at the Council of State Governments Western Legislative Conference! We enjoyed learning about Quantum Computing, the West’s take on the upcoming Olympics, Policy tours, and a visit to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ Salt Lake City Temple Visitors Center.
Quantum Computing
Though a daunting subject, we attended a conference session on the implications and impacts of Quantum Computing, hosted by Senator Catherine Blakespear (CA) and Representative Justin Wilmeth (AZ).
With a series of presentations by Rohan Basu Roy, Professor at the University of Utah; Pratik Soni, Professor at the University of Utah; Chris Spitzer, of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory; and Ben Eikey, of the Levin Center, we were amazed to learn about the quickly approaching 2030 deadline for the official implementation of Quantum.
This astounding software will significantly cut down the production time for molecule simulators used in drug manufacturing, risk analysis for things like finance, and even enhanced AI. However, as Professor Soni stated, Quantum also comes with significant risk to national security and could potentially widen the employment gap. In order to resolve this conflict, speakers suggested training programs for teachers and students as young as elementary school to introduce Quantum so that we can raise a generation of young people properly equipped to handle the technology.
The tone of the session was one of preparation: Quantum is coming to the West, and it’s up to the legislators to build a safety net to keep things from going downhill. Quantum Computing is a somewhat new concept to the Ambassadors, though one that got us thinking about our own futures and how Quantum might affect our careers in law.
The Power of Sports
Following our crash course in Quantum, we were off to lunch! Before the keynote speech began, Chair Senator Todd Weiler (UT) presented the Bettye Fahrenkamp Award to Senator Ron Winters (UT) for his outstanding leadership.
After the awards, we learned about the value of sports from Kelsey Berg, who is currently leading government relations for the Utah 2034 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games…
…and Chris Mazdzer, Olympian and Paralympic activist, and moderator Senator Todd Wieler (UT).
Following the incredible success of the 2002 Winter Olympics hosted in Utah– one of the only Olympic games in which the host country made a profit– the state is thrilled to host the 2034 Winter Games.
However, the benefits of Olympic sports are not only financial. The speakers testified to the incredible cultural unification that happens when people from across the globe unite in the name of sports, citing the overwhelmingly positive reaction from visitors to the World Cup.
Even as someone who has never been particularly athletic, I found this connection inspiring, and I look forward to being a part of the host country for another worldwide sporting event.
Huntsman Crisis Center
The LEAP Ambassadors had the opportunity to attend post-lunch policy tours to witness the effects of legislation in action.
Isis, Allie, and Jacob attended a tour of the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and Crisis Center of Utah. The institute is leading the way for many significant improvements in behavioral health by focusing on creating a welcoming environment for its patients through a variety of methods, including referring to those whom they treat not as patients, but as guests. The architecture of the building helps achieve this as well by being intentional with every aspect, all the way down to the lighting, which is timed to the body’s circadian rhythm!
Representative Steve Eliason and Operations Manager Kevin Curtis shared how they have made an impact through collaborating with local police departments and hospitals to keep those facing mental challenges out of prisons and instead getting the care they need. Their work has helped many people with rehabilitation after facing a crisis while creating a more accepting community for those who may have mental problems. The session informed us on the resources available for nearly every demographic to seek care, along with ways legislators can help push for destigmatizing mental health treatment.
The tour created a lot to think about for the Ambassadors, but it brought along with it a newfound interest in psychology and the treatment of the mentally ill.
The Great Salt Lake
Robin, Olivia, and Professor Yawn chose to attend the policy tour on Water and the Future of the West. On the bus ride there, we learned about water usage in Utah. Utah Water Ways, led by Executive Director Tage Flint, is behind a campaign called “Slow the Flow.”
Their organization is unique: it is set up as a non-profit, but it is funded in part by the Utah Legislature and in part by community/corporate partners, with a goal of reducing per capita water consumption by almost a third in the next twenty-five years.
Part of this goal is to save the Great Salt Lake.
The Lake has been subsiding in the past several decades, a particularly trouble phenomenon because it offers a unique ecosystem, providing a home for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds.
…we spent a wonderful couple of hours exploring the Utah wetlands, seeing birds, insects, and other wildlife critical to the wetland ecosystem.
Seeing the wetlands in person reminded all of us of the importance of water conservation, especially in Utah, the second-driest state in the country.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Salt Lake City Temple
Following the Policy tours, LEAP ambassadors headed out to explore the historic Temple Square for a tour of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ Salt Lake City Temple Visitors Center. Though not allowed in the Temple itself without a Temple Recommend from the LDS Church, we were soon immersed in the history, culture, and beliefs of the Church.
Our first stop was to take a picture with Thorvaldsen’s Christus, an 11-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ that has a unique connection to Huntsville. Home to a full-scale bronze replica of the same statue (which can be found in historic Oakwood Cemetery), Huntsville possesses the only full-sized replica of Christus in the state of Texas.
We then were led through five rooms of a replica temple: the foyer, the baptistry, the celestial room, the instruction room, and the sealing room, each of which are copies of real temple rooms.
The most interesting room to me was the baptistry, which features a large bath resting on the backs of twelve life-sized oxen that symbolize the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The baptistry is also located on the temple’s lowest level to represent the symbolic burial and resurrection associated with baptism. Members of the Church perform baptisms there on behalf of their deceased ancestors who did not have an opportunity to convert, though their ancestors still must choose to accept the baptism.
After the tour, we were taken to the Tabernacle to listen to the Grammy, Emmy, Peabody, and Mother Teresa award-winning Tabernacle Choir perform.
Many of the ambassadors were deeply moved by the experience, and we all understood why it is considered one of the ten greatest choirs in the world.
Overall, we enjoyed our visit to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The experience gave us a greater appreciation for the culture, history, and beliefs of many of the people who call Salt Lake City home.
Central by Saffron Valley
Hungry after our longest conference day, we stopped in to Central by Saffron Valley for a meal that would have made the James Beard Foundation proud. Actually, it must have made the Foundation proud, because the chef, Lavanya Mahate, was nominated for a James Beard award in 2024.
The restaurant is an homage to the “golden age of India’s train travel,” and it is themed accordingly. The tables are labeled by platform, there is a “railroad crossing” sign in a corner, there is a faux train compartment wallpaper in parts of the restaurant, and some of the dishes are served in the tins used on Indian train travel.
The theme is appropriate, in that the meals come from different regions of India: curries from across the country; chicken tikka dosa from “southbound parts”; and a dessert menu featuring “sweet departures.”
We opted to eat family style, with some naan, chicken tikka kebabs, samosas, fish and chips (a nod to India’s one-time status as a British colony, and a sop to Olivia), Nawabi lamb biryani; the ever-reliable Old Delhi Butter Chicken (from the ever predictable Jacob Wessels); and for dessert, chai creme brulee, gulab juman cheesecake, and Indian ice cream.
Everything we had was at least good, and several of the dishes being excellent: the chicken tikka and butter chicken standing out as exceptionally tender; the samosas as a spice-filled specialty; the ice cream as tasty and inventive.
Owner Mahate told the Deseret News that she wanted to make “Indian food more accessible,” and she seems to be doing just that, providing excellent food to the Salt Lake City community. The entire meal was delicious, and it was an enjoyable evening with friends while extending the LEAP Center’s ethnic-themed meals during this trip– a nod to Salt Lake City’s history of attracting immigrants who contribute in many ways, not the least of which is adding to the culinary culture of the community.
Conclusion
Each session and policy tour demonstrated that effective leadership requires curiosity, collaboration, and a willingness to understand perspectives different from our own. As we look ahead to our final day at the conference, we are grateful for the opportunity to learn from legislators, policy experts, and community leaders from across the West.
Even with summer kicking into gear, LEAP students have managed to stay active in furthering their understanding of public affairs! Recently, we were honored to hear former Vice President Mike Pence speak on his new book, What Conservatives Believe: Rediscovering the Conservative Conscience at an event hosted by The World Affairs Council of Greater Houston.
In his book, Pence advocates for enduring conservative principles over the appeal of big-government populism within the Republican Party, and we were all thrilled to receive signed copies at the start of the event.
The night began with Sandija Bayot, the Chief Development Officer of the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston, introducing Kenneth Tubman, the Chairman and President of PPA Resources, who offered a glimpse into Mike Pence’s “multifaceted” career. Pence took the stage alongside exceptional Ronan O’Malley, Chief Programs Officer, who served as the moderator for this event.
Pence opened by highlighting the foundation 1960 Conservative text, The Conscience of a Conservative, by Barry Goldwater, which inspired his decision to write his new book. He discussed how politics in America are going through a dramatic change, and brought up modern marginalization of traditional values.
Pence reflected on his role as a member of the Republican Party, discussing how he went from being a Democrat to a Conservative after realizing that he wanted the values he grew up learning from his grandparents for himself. Pence also spoke about the importance of economic freedom and how he thinks that it is “morally wrong” to look at his children and grandchildren and say to them, “the debt is your problem, not mine.”
As the audience portion of the discussion began, Pence was asked what advice he would give to young people interested in politics. His answer was both simple and impactful, especially as students with an interest in the law: “Show up, don’t wait to get asked.”
Wrapping up, Pence reminded us that the American people are some of the most caring and innovative people, stating that America deserves to have a government just as good as its citizens.
The event ended on a memorable note as we were able to meet and take a photo with Mike Pence, who expressed his confidence in our generation by calling us the “future of politics.”
We concluded the evening with a delicious dinner and dessert from Katz’s Never Kloses, where we shared our thoughts and reflections from the event, a wonderful end to a fantastic and informative evening.
the Spring semester wound down, pre-law society members gathered for a laid-back get-together to escape the stressful process of finals. With games, puzzles, and pizza, we reflected on the year that’s gone by, and thought to the future.
To kick off the evening, we enjoyed food, conversation, and plenty of fun. Four activity tables featured exciting games like Hot Topics, Pictionary, Uno, and Imposter, creating the perfect atmosphere for everyone to connect and enjoy the night.
We also did a bit of role-acting in a very light version of mock trial, which may lead to a more robust version in a future semester.
We finished the evening with some photographs in front of celebratory decor.
Ramping up for the Summer and Fall
The end of the semester also prompted some planning for future events, and this included plans for a summer pre-law conference, visits to a law school over the summer, an extensive workshop for law-school applications, and a study course for the LSAT.
Planning has also begun for the fall, with the semester schedule outlined:
September 2: Game Night
September 16: “How to Get Into Law School,” featuring law-school deans
October 21: District Attorney Will Durham
November 18: Texas Special Prosecution Unit’s Simulated Voir Dire
The fall will also bring a Mock LSAT, a resume workshop, Moot Court, and a handful of guest speakers, making it one of the more robust semesters in memory, giving members good reasons to stay involved and prepare for the future.
One of the virtues of attending SHSU is its pre-law program, which offers a robust pre-law society, a legal studies minor, many law-related courses, and numerous extra-curricular activities. And so it was that on the last day of finals, three pre-law society members attended the Texas Bar Association’s training on “Litigating the Constitution” at the Texas Law Center near the Texas capitol building.
20 Years of Changes in Constitutional Law
The first session was appropriate for the early morning inasmuch as it was led by the energetic Chad Baruch. In 30 minutes, Baruch covered gun control, religious freedoms, the takings clause, student speech, abortion, judicial deference, affirmative action, and more–and he managed to do this while addressing major changes across all these topics.
The changes loomed larger because it was telescoped into a thirty-minute format, and while all the changes in the diverse policy areas were interesting, two areas stood out. In discussing religious freedom and, specifically, Lemon, Baruch made a comment that could have applied to the whole session:
If you are roughly my age, about 60, having taken constitutional law in college was a serious impediment to your legal education, because almost everything you learned has been overturned.
Also noteworthy were Baruch’s comments on student speech, not only because he was a high-school principal, but also because, as students, this is a topic that naturally interests us. In particular, Baruch discussed the Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021), in which a student who did not make the cheerleading team posted on social media something like the following: “Fuck school fuck softball fuck cheer fuck everything.”
Notably, Baruch was wearing a t-shirt with exactly those words, an homage to the case.
He made clear his stance on this, observing that the “Court got it right,” paraphrasing the opinion as noting that, for a 17-year old student, social media was her town hall–the place in which ideas, no matter how offensive, shallow or foolish, should be offered, challenged, and debated.
The 4th Amendment, Technology, and Privacy
One of the highlights of the day was the presentation by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Kevin Yeary, who discussed how technology and the amenities of modern society have intruded on the 4th Amendment.
Justice Yeary hit on many historically key cases, including Katz v. US (1967), before highlighting big changes in the last ten years. In Riley (2014), for example, law enforcement agencies prohibited the search of cell phones without a search warrant and in Carpenter (2018) the Court held that location data from cell phone towers also requires a search warrant, limiting the third-party doctrine.
But with Moore’s Law in full effect, technology continues to advance, and the courts are struggling to keep up. Justice Yeary mentioned that one case before the Court, Chatrie v. US, will also affect how law enforcement do their jobs, as well as, of course, how lower courts rule on similar cases. And speaking of lower Courts, Justice Yeary mentioned that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found it difficult to weigh in on these topics without clear guidance from the USSC.
A Broader View
Other valuable sessions included topics such as executive privilege, in which the Youngstown case–which we covered in Professor Yawn’s Con Law class extensively–was discussed at length.
In an interesting session on the USSC and precedent, Judge Jordan and Matthew Kolodoski, the panelists noted that, despite the headlines, the Roberts court has overturned fewer precedents than the last five courts, on average.
And while all the sessions were timely, Eric Opelia’s presentation on recent cases on voting rights was perhaps the most timely. Indeed, he mentioned that he thought that the Louisiana v. Callais (2026) case would be his late-breaking news for this presentation, given that it was decided by the Court fewer than ten days ago. The Virginia Supreme Court, however, decided in the last 24 hours that Virginia’s recent redistricting election (which passed, to the Democratic Party’s favor) was unconstitutional. This may head to the USSC, but either way, it adds uncertainty to the districts up for grabs in the 2026 mid-term elections.
We were also privileged to hear from two members of the Governor’s Staff, including Jason Bramow and Trevor Ezell, the latter of whom gave the Gregory Coleman Federalism lecture.
We also heard from Judge Farris, as well as two scholarly presentations by law professors on constitutional enumeration and originalism.
Concluding Thoughts
This was a unique way for us to supplement our constitutional law classroom experience, with presentations by practicing attorneys. That we were able to glean so much information in only one day speaks well of the presenters and organizers.
We were very grateful to attend this event, and the outgoing and incoming Presidents (Matthew Kolodoski and Judge Rossini, respectively) were very welcoming, even when they learned we were undergraduates.
LEAP Students gathered for an World Affairs Council oxford style debate at Rice university yesterday. To tackle a question that’s becoming harder to ignore in today’s world: should democratic nations prioritize AI capability over AI safety? The event brought together policymakers, tech experts, and investors for a lively discussion that felt less like a lecture and more like a real look at where the world is heading.
The evening started with a quick introduction to the panel, but it wasn’t just a list of dry credentials, this was a broad list of expertise! On one end, you had Representative Giovanni Capriglione, who brought the weight of a lawmaker who has actually written Texas’s AI frameworks. Then there was Mario Rodriguez, whose experience operating Sophia the Robot moved the conversation from “what if” to the reality of humanoid engineering.
Instead of debating a “future” version of AI, Brad Groux spoke from the perspective of someone building cloud-based AI for organizations right now, while George Ploss, a Marine veteran and Oracle director reframed the tech as a critical piece of national security and the defense industrial base.
The pro-capability side framed AI as an urgent geopolitical race. One speaker argued that democratic nations cannot afford to slow innovation, emphasizing that AI is already defending critical infrastructure such as power grids and financial systems. In their view, prioritizing safety through heavy restrictions risks ceding technological leadership to authoritarian regimes. The argument was straightforward: in a world of rapid advancement, falling behind is more dangerous than moving too fast.
They also highlighted some of the benefits AI is delivering right now such as early cancer detection and more access to education, pointing out that slowing development isn’t just cautious; it could delay life saving breakthroughs and prolong existing inequalities. Their main message was that democratic values, combined with existing legal frameworks, are enough to guide responsible innovation without stifling progress.
On the other side, the safety-focused speakers challenged the very framing of the debate. Rather than a race, they described AI as a strategic system more comparable to nuclear technology than consumer software. Drawing on lessons from Cold War deterrence, they argued that unchecked capability without control creates instability, not strength. In this view, safety isn’t a barrier to progress, it’s what makes progress sustainable.
They pointed to real-world risks, including simulations where AI systems behaved unpredictably, as evidence that reliability and oversight must come first. Without embedded safeguards, even the most advanced systems could become liabilities. One speaker emphasized that democracies should not try to “win” by mimicking less accountable regimes, warning that doing so would undermine the very values that give them legitimacy and global influence.
What really stuck with me from the safety side was their focus on trust. They argued that long term leadership depends not just on what a nation can build, but on whether allies and citizens trust those systems. In a world shaped by alliances like NATO, credibility and shared values may matter as much as raw technological power.
The audience Q&A added another layer to the discussion, with individuals–including Robin and Mikaela–asking practical and philosophical questions.
What made the debate especially engaging was how much common ground existed beneath the disagreement. Both sides acknowledged the importance of innovation and the inevitability of AI’s growth. The real divide was about sequencing and emphasis: should capability lead with safety following, or should safety be built in from the start?
Like many World Affairs Council events, the debate didn’t aim to deliver a definitive answer. Instead, it encouraged critical thinking and deeper engagement. As AI continues to evolve, the question raised that evening will only become more urgent: how do we balance the drive to innovate with the responsibility to protect?
For LEAP, the evening carried an extra layer of significance beyond the debate itself. This was Michelle’s final event with us, and having her there to lead the way one last time made the night feel like the end of an era. It was a reminder that while we spent so much time discussing the “inevitable” growth of technology helping us better our world, it’s actually the people and the mentors we work with who help us become better versions of ourselves.
Walking out of the O’conner building, I couldn’t shake the idea that the tech is actually the easy part. The hard part is the governance. We aren’t just building faster tools; we’re deciding who or what gets to stay in the driver’s seat of our society!
In our four years at Sam Houston State University, we have had many opportunities to attend conferences. And, perhaps unusually, we have also had the opportunity to present at conferences, and one of those opportunities arose late this semester–two weeks prior to our graduation!
Our presentation, alongside Dean Lyons and Associate Dean Boisvert, was to highlight the many ways that SHSU, the College of Criminal Justice, and the LEAP Center help bridge the gap between academia and the “real-world.”
While the Deans ably handled high-level things such as state mandates, trends in higher education, and challenges faced across the educational industry, we offered an overview of some of the ways that this curricular “bridge” has helped us participate in and transition to the workplace.
This included discussions of things we experience in the classroom, such as police simulations; internship opportunities we have had in and outside of our fields of study; travel opportunities we have enjoyed; and the community service in which we have engaged. This approach was taken to demonstrate that, in a world where a career lattice (rather than career ladder) is likely, it’s important to have broad and well-rounded skills rather than narrow and inflexible skills.
It was a pleasure to have this opportunity–and especially together–as we approach our graduation. As fellow Criminal Justice majors with an assortment of minors, and as former SHAIP interns, and as students very active in the LEAP program, it was a pleasure to share some of our experiences with Dean Lyons and Associate Dean Danielle Boisvert…
…in front of many of the leading professionals in the correctional-legal field.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 
