Pearce Campbell ’27 participated in an internship during the 2023 Virginia Legislative Session. Pearce’s path to the internship was remarkable.  

In 2022, Pearce learned about the Virginia Senate Page Program, in which students apply to work in the Virginia Senate during the legislative session. Although he was not accepted, he was determined to keep trying. A serendipitous meeting with Delegate John McGuire (both were getting their hair cut!) led to Pearce being invited to a political fundraiser for Delegate McGuire. 

“A few days before the fundraiser, I put together a spreadsheet to analyze the partisan lean, voting patterns, and population of the district Delegate McGuire was running in,” said Pearce. “I found out which counties were in the district and used the results from the most recent statewide election (the 2021 Governor election) to see what the partisan lean was for each county in the senate district.” When he attended the fundraiser, Pearce showed Delegate McGuire the spreadsheet. “At the end of the evening,” recalled Pearce, “Delegate McGuire offered me an opportunity to intern at his office at the State Capitol one day a week during the 2023 legislative session.” 

During his internship, Pearce read bills and came up with talking points, watched the House of Delegates in session, worked on a weekly newsletter, and watched committee meetings. Thanks to this hands-on experience, Pearce learned a lot about local politics … and he’s setting his sights on summer, when he plans to work on Senator Siobhan Dunnavant’s re-election campaign. We can’t wait to hear all about it, Pearce!