Beth Corbett, 24, a second-year public relations student and president of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Youth Association is volunteering on Conservative candidate Joe Oliver’s campaign in Eglinton-Lawrence.
COLIN ELLIS
NEWS REPORTER
Getting involved in this year’s federal election campaign may seem like a waste of time to some, but for two Humber students, it’s a great career opportunity.
“The big selling point is it definitely looks great on a resume,” said Beth Corbett, 24, president of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Youth Association.
The second-year Humber public relations student said working with a political party is a great chance to acquire job skills and even an internship.
Corbett, who is also the deputy communications director for Conservative candidate Joe Oliver in the Eglinton-Lawrence riding, said she has been able to use the skills she’s learned at Humber, such as media relations, on the campaign trail.
“I wanted to be able to help out in that area so I could get some experience and apply some of the things that I’ve been learning at school,” Corbett said.
Theresa Lubowitz, 25, a post-graduate public administration student and president of the Humber Young Liberals, said the important thing to know about participating in a political campaign is how to get involved.
“It’s as easy as just calling up a campaign office and saying ‘what can I do to help?’, and they will find you something to do,” Lubowitz said. “There’s always something to do on a campaign.”
Lubowitz also runs social media for Liberal candidate Kyle Petersen’s campaign in the Newmarket-Aurora riding, and said people who work hard will tend to get more responsibility.
“Nobody turns away volunteers, especially during an election,” Lubowitz said.
David Wylie, 25, a former public relations student at Humber who’s working on Conservative candidate Bernard Trottier’s campaign in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, said getting involved politically can also boost your connections.
“Because you’re networking, you get to hear of opportunities that you wouldn’t get by going on Craigslist or Monster.com,” Wylie said.
Kate Pugh, 23, communications director for the Ontario New Democratic Youth, said it was unfortunate more young people were not running for public office.
She also said that if more people under 25 voted, they could surpass the senior vote.
“You wouldn’t let your grandparents pick who you’re dating or pick your job for you, so why are you going to let them run the country?” she said.
According to Elections Canada, the turnout rate of 18 to 24-year-olds in the 2008 federal election was only 37 per cent.