The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Jonathan M. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Take Action - Interview with Kendall Asbenson
Recently I had the opportunity to interview Kendell Asbenson, who is currently interning with Michigan Family Forum. Kendell has graduated from Patrick Henry College and is currently attending Michigan State University College of Law.
Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself and what got you interested in the political field.
A: I've been interested in politics since high school. Actually in the early part of high school I wanted to be an electrical engineer and do programming, working with robotics and things like that. But I saw a need for strong Christian individuals to make a difference in government and in culture generally. I ended up going to Patrick Henry College in Virginia. I am originally from California. I went to Virginia, and along with going to school, had an internship with the White House during my last semester at college. I graduated in the summer of 2007 and got married the next summer. I actually worked at the White House before I was married. I started there in February of 2008 and worked there until the transition in 2009. My last day there was January 19th; I stayed until about 10 o'clock at night then got out of there before they shut the city down for the inauguration the next day. Working at the White House was a pretty neat opportunity. After that I worked at a property law firm for a few months, and was accepted to the Michigan State University College of Law, and I've been there for a year now. That's basically what I've done for the last few years. The primary reason I've wanted to be involved in politics is because there is a need for good Christian individuals to make an impact and a difference on those around them.
Q: Of all these positions and internships you've held, which was the most interesting or profitable?
A: The most interesting one was when I was employed at the White House. I worked there for almost a year and did lots of different things. I worked in White House management, so it was really the operations and logistics side of things. I got to see a lot behind the scenes, which was kind of fun. I worked in many different parts of the White House, from the press secretary's office to political affairs or any of the different offices within the White House. My primary responsibility was making sure that we were fully stocked with different gifts that the president would give out in the Oval Office, things like lapel pins, pocket knives for Boy Scouts with the presidential seal on them, and a variety of other things. He would also give other specific gifts to American ambassadors overseas when he would go and visit that country. It's kind of fun; I can say that my work showed up on the president's desk every day! Another project that I had was being responsible for running the White House bowling alley in the basement of the Eisenhower Executive Office building. It was something that they had recently restored, actually just while I was there. Staffers with reservations could go down and use the bowling alley. I was responsible for that and taking care of any problems. That was a fun job.
Q: What do you feel was the most important training you have had so far?
A: I think Patrick Henry College was very important. It's a very challenging and rigorous academic program. We were constantly encouraged to debate the different issues of faith and reason and how those two things work together, and how faith impacts all areas of your thinking and your life. It was a very rigorous education, but it forced all of us students to constantly be thinking about how our faith impacts our learning. But it also was a program that helped me to improve academically; writing, speaking, and a number of different ways that helped prepare me for law school. Being able to be a good writer is something that is very important. It's not something that a lot of people know how to do well and it's something that will set you apart. That's probably one of the best educational learning experiences that I've had.
Q: What role does your faith play in your profession?
A: My faith helps me to understand how the world works. I have a worldview that is very much shaped by my faith. So I take the perspective that my faith should affect everything that I do. That will influence how I interact with people, it will influence what I believe and how I believe, especially in the field that I am in right now. I'm dealing with a lot of different issues regarding marriage. My faith impacts those beliefs. I can't separate my faith and put it in a box, and then have my beliefs on politics or society. It has to be incorporated together in order for me to be a consistent Christian. It's sort of a all-encompassing worldview that I derive from my faith.
Q: What does your job involve here at Michigan Family Forum?
A: Currently I am working on a white paper, which is essentially a research paper, on the institution of marriage. I am tying that in with natural law and also the role that government should have in the institution of marriage. There was that (recent) case that just overturned Proposition 8 in California. So this is an issue that is very relevant to today. That's my primary responsibility. I did help out here and there with the voter guide, but my primary responsibility has been to put together this research paper.
Q: What advice would you give a young person interested in going into the political field?
A: I think one of the most important things is getting different experience, but also getting to know different people. The connections that you make are very important. It's not necessarily that you will be buddy-buddy with someone so they will get you a job. Through the internships and different experiences with people you will prove yourself as someone who is reliable and someone who does a good job. Those people will be willing to recommend you to someone they know. It's a whole lot better than trying to just cold call people or replying to an ad in the newspaper or whatever else.
I would encourage you to never disqualify yourself from a position by not trying. I didn't necessarily have the best grades at Patrick Henry College, but I applied for the White House internship anyway. I didn't think that I was necessarily a strong candidate but I ended up getting an internship. By doing an excellent job at the internship, I made some connections there and sent my resume to White House personnel, got a call a few weeks later and ended up interviewing for a job. I didn't disqualify myself by not applying. If there are things that look like good opportunities don't ever say, "Maybe this won't work out for me." Always go ahead and apply for those opportunities.
I spent some additional time with Kendell talking about educational options and common acquaintances. He also recommended several books for me to read. I think that Kendell Asbenson is an exceptional young leader in the conservative community, and I am very glad that I had the chance to interview him.
