Game Changers

Kelly Gonsalves

Kelly is currently studying International Studies with a concentration in World Politics and Diplomacy at the University of Richmond. During her time at Richmond, Kelly has taken steps to give her education a truly international focus by working and studying in both England and Denmark. During summer 2010 Kelly worked for Andy Slaughter a Member of Parliament in London, England. During her time there, Kelly spent much of her time focusing on constituent casework. This focus meant that her time was spent working on cases which dealt with constituent’s immigration and housing concerns. The disparity between the rich and poor in Mr. Slaughter’s constituency of Hammersmith and Fulham was very apparent; it was also a big part of the problems that faced the people Kelly aimed to help on a daily basis. Through this experience Kelly has realized how greatly people lives can be affected daily by politics. The local governments party for example or the borders that are chosen for a constituency can greatly impact people’s lives. Seeing Mr. Slaughters work as well as the daily struggles faced by these people have inspired Kelly. It is now very clear to her that it is necessary for political figures to learn that they must put people before their politics.

After Kelly returned from London she spent a semester at Richmond and then returned abroad, to study in Copenhagen, Denmark. In Denmark her classes focused specifically on her areas of interest which allowed her to look at issues such as immigration and the EU. Denmark provided a specifically interesting study for this as their immigration policy is currently under fire. Kelly’s course also allowed her to travel to Brussels and visit many EU organizations such as the EU Parliament, and Commission. Here she met with and interviewed lobbyists and political figures of the EU. This experience allowed her to further examine the political process from a different perspective.

This summer Kelly is working as an intern at the Common Good. She is happy to join an organization that works towards shaping our country to be a place where people participate in politics and put their country before their party. Though these are just some of the ideas TCG promotes they speak to the changes that Kelly herself has learned are so important after her time working in London. At TCG Kelly assists wherever needed. Some of the projects that Kelly has worked on this summer include event planning, and updating the various social media platforms with news and other day to day information. This year Kelly will finish her studies at the University of Richmond. In the future she hopes to take all she has learned in her various experiences and work towards making the changes to political system that she feels are necessary at home in the United States and internationally.