Third-year student Michael Jonas is a busy, busy guy and he is loving every minute of it! Not only is Jonas a full time TJSL law student, but he also is the president of the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF), a member of the ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Competition Team, involved with the Environmental Law Society and the Entertainment Law Society, and is mediating in small claims court. In his spare time (yes - he apparently has some), he is taking on one more project as a reporter for Campaign.com, which is sending him on an assignment that even veteran journalists would envy - covering not one, but both Presidential Conventions.
Read Michael's reports from the conventions
Jonas is extremely excited about attending the Presidential Conventions: "For me this is a once in a life time opportunity. It is rare to have a job that you care about and enjoy. Getting paid to go to an event I would be watching on TV in my living room is not too shabby."
On August 23, Jonas is scheduled to arrive in the mile high city of Denver, Colorado, and join Convention delegates, political insiders and 15,000 media members from around the globe. Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama will arrive on the last night of the Convention, where Jonas will go toe-to-toe with seasoned reporters to get that highly coveted interview.
"I may not get to interview Barack---literally no one does unless you are like Brian Williams or Katie Couric," said Jonas. In fact, he acknowledges that it's highly unlikely he will interview either presidential hopeful, but Jonas says that's okay because this opportunity could open up avenues he never knew existed.
"This begs the question of where my career is headed," he said. "It is going in several successful directions right now. I am just going to work hard, with focus, and ride this exciting train."
On September 1, Jonas will then travel from Denver to attend the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, where millions of people around the world will be watching as the Republican Party convenes its 39th nominating convention.
"From politicians to celebrities, to people on the street, I can't wait to meet and talk with all and everyone about the substantive issues that affect their lives," admits Jonas. "I am a curious soul, always interested in learning anything possible."
Jonas will report on the 2,000+ delegates and similarly numbered alternate delegates at each convention, who are elected to represent their states and territories as they play a critical role in our nation's democratic process. Delegates of all ages and backgrounds will secure a place in political history when they vote together to nominate each party's candidates for president and vice president of the United States.
"In some countries, people do not have the opportunity to vote," notes Jonas. "I agree that at times the American political process can lag and make us feel cynical, hopeless or even ashamed. However, in other countries, people walk miles to vote, if they even have the right to vote. In order to maintain the personal liberties we are afforded in our democratic society, it is a necessary civic duty to give back."
The website for which Jonas is reporting, Campaign.com, is a non-partisan site designed to educate people about each candidate's individual issues and to provide people with enough information to get out and vote.
"I encourage each and every person to take a moment to be educated on the issues they care about and, furthermore, to make an educated voting decision," said Jonas.
"We are in a critical time in America. We are in need of new economic policies, changes to our current health care system, the start of an environmental and energy revolution, and a new take on international relations regarding both war (and) peace and trade."
Jonas believes that, because so many diverse candidates are in the mix this election, a very eclectic public seems to be much more interested, opinionated and involved.
"People about to vote should ask who the right person is to manage these issues, not necessarily which party they are from, who they know or whose family they like the best," Jonas stresses. "This is not to say that these are not considerations, but education on where candidates stand on substantive issues must be at the forefront."
As Jonas travels across the country reporting on the conventions, and more specifically, the candidates and the issues, he encourages all voters to get informed and to get out and vote in November!
Over the next several weeks Jonas will blog about his experiences at the conventions, which will be showcased on the TJSL website.