On Feb. 11, the Dartmouth Political Union and Dartmouth Civics co-hosted State Rep. James Thibault, State Rep. Valerie McDonnell and State Rep. Cassandra Levesque — who represent different districts across the state — for a panel about balancing student life with legislative work.
Approximately 50 people attended the event in the Hinman Forum of the Rockefeller Center, according to event moderator Pari Sidana ’28.
Thibault, McDonnell, and Levesque began the event by explaining why they chose to run for office at such a young age. All three legislators were under the age of 23 when elected, and are among the youngest legislators in the country.
Thibault said he wanted to be a legislator to advocate for students like his sisters.
“My older and younger sister both have autism, and they were not getting the resources that they needed in their school … and they didn’t receive the support they needed for those options from the school district,” he said. “I really wanted to run to be able to represent folks like my family who need that extra support but maybe aren’t getting it.”
Levesque also said she had been involved in politics since a young age and was specifically inspired to run for office after working to prevent child marriage in New Hampshire.
“I started that fight when I was 15, and I was reached out to by many people in my community and many other legislators to run,” she said.
For McDonnell, the decision to run came from her desire to increase awareness of civic engagement and to advocate for civic engagement courses at the middle and high school level.
“A lot of people in my school, my classmates, didn’t know anything about government [and] politics [or] that anybody could run for office at 18, never mind, register to vote,” she said. “And so for my campaign, I really pushed to make civics a mandatory course in New Hampshire high schools.”
Focusing on the challenges of balancing legislative work with academics and personal life, Sidana asked the panelists about their typical day in the life.
According to Thibault, being such a young legislator requires a balance of student life with legislator work since he is “still a student.”
“I have to find a way to split my time between Franklin, Concord and Manchester in a way that I don’t feel completely insane,” he said. “...I had a French exam at nine in the morning, and then after that exam I had to rush up for committee votes.”
For McDonnell, her day-to-day life often includes a lot of time in Salem, N.H., the community she represents.
“I represent the Town of Salem, New Hampshire, and I’ll be there just going to regular events, being an everyday person and just trying to get to know what issues matter to them,” McDonnell said.
Sidana followed up by asking about how salary impacted their decisions to run for office. As representatives, they only get paid $100 a year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
McDonnell said that she does not “think money played a factor” in her decision to run for office.
“You see a lot more retirees, because they can afford to [run],” she said. “And it’s certainly a challenge for young people getting involved. I think probably all [of us can] attest to that, but it’s a sacrifice that we’re all willing to make because it’s important to us.”
In an interview with The Dartmouth following the event, Sidana said she enjoyed organizing the event because she “thought it’d be fun to talk to them.”
“I thought it'd be fun to talk to them and have conversations about what it's like to be someone our age, making a difference in the way that they are and representing people in their communities.” Sidana said.
Audience member Phoebe Abrahms ’28 said she enjoyed the event and thought it was “interesting” to hear from the legislators.
“To actually hear from them and just to hear the difference in our lives is really cool,” Abrahms said.
Audience member Max McHugh ’29 is a member of Dartmouth Civics and said he attended because he is “interested in young politicians.””
“It was really cool and insightful,” McHugh said.
