Spend even five minutes with state Sen. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) and you鈥檒l probably come away knowing more about how state government works and the significant role it plays in your life.
鈥淚n order for people to get the very best government, a government that works for them, they have to understand it,鈥 Sykes says. 鈥淕overnment is so mystical to a lot of people that they refuse to engage in it. They say, 鈥楶olitics has nothing to do with me.鈥 But that鈥檚 not true at all.鈥
Sykes, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at 黑料网, brought that philosophy to bear as the inaugural director of 黑料网鈥檚 Columbus Program in State Issues. Since 2001, the semester-long intensive program has aimed to open students鈥 eyes to the workings of state government鈥攅ven if, Sykes says, those students thought they had no place in it.
The program paused in 2020 amid the pandemic, and Sykes stepped down as director after 19 years in June 2020. The university is seeking a new director, and plans to restart the program in fall 2022.
With more than 30 years in politics, Sykes considers himself a trustee: someone who will do what is in the best interest of his constituents, even if some decisions are unpopular. And the more people know about how the decisions are made, he says, the better they can see how the process affects them and where they might find a place in it.
That鈥檚 where the Columbus Program, as it is known, comes in. The program has welcomed about 24 students each fall to Ohio鈥檚 capital to explore state government in three ways: via classes, through on-site briefings (with elected state officials, state agencies, lobbying firms, think tanks and nonprofit policy/advocacy organizations) and in individualized internships that exposed students to the facets of state government.
Each Monday and Tuesday morning, students gathered in a hearing room of the Ohio Statehouse for class. Ohio Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord)鈥攁n adjunct professor at 黑料网 for more than 12 years, whom Sykes brought in as an instructor鈥攚ould teach government theory. Sykes, often listening in the back of the room, would sometimes debate a point or introduce a different perspective鈥攊ntentionally exposing the students to the complicated relationship between Republicans and Democrats and the role of partisan politics in developing and implementing public policy.
In the afternoons, students visited dozens of state agencies with Sykes, from the Governor鈥檚 office to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to state prisons, speaking with the people who plan, administer and operate governance at the state level. Internships, which Sykes helped arrange, took up the rest of the students鈥 weekdays.
By 2019, 367 students had completed the Columbus Program.
鈥淚n order for people to get the very best government, a government that works for them, they have to understand it.鈥
鈥擵ernon Sykes, PhD
Launching the program gave Sykes the chance to shape it with a simple but important goal: 鈥淚 wanted to make sure that the students would understand and appreciate the significant role the state government plays in all of our lives,鈥 he says. It has a hand in everything from issuing business licenses to entrepreneurs to funding school, prison and healthcare systems. Given that, he says, everyone 鈥渟hould be exposed to the big actors鈥攖o the stakeholders, the administrators, the planners鈥 in their home state鈥攅ven those who don鈥檛 plan to work in government.
Still, Sykes believes that revealing government鈥檚 inner workings encourages citizens to participate, says Sykes鈥 youngest daughter, state Rep. and House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes (D-Akron), BA 鈥08, who participated in the Columbus Program in 2006. So, 鈥渋t鈥檚 not really shocking that he would have gone to great lengths to put together a program like this,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just another way he鈥檚 encouraging participation.鈥
As he spoke in classes across 黑料网鈥檚 eight campuses to recruit for the Columbus Program, he often heard students lament that they had no place in a government-focused experience because they weren鈥檛 political science majors. 鈥淭hey would just shut off and think, this is not for me,鈥 he says. But he was 鈥渁ble to spark their interest鈥 in the program by showing how they could tailor participation to each student鈥檚 interests.
The internships were Sykes鈥 chance to convince students they had a place in the program. He would ask them what they wanted to do and where they might want to intern to find the best match, says Kathleen Loughry, administrative assistant for the Columbus Program since 2004. 鈥淲e would sometimes research what was available, but they would have to submit their r茅sum茅s and schedule interviews.鈥
A fashion merchandising major could benefit from the experience, Sykes reasoned, by learning how corporate taxes and regulations affect retailers, so he helped secure an internship in the government relations department at the corporate headquarters of what was then known as Limited Brands. A journalism major could gain valuable reporting and government experience with an internship at the Columbus Dispatch. And an accounting major could just as easily crunch numbers at the state auditor鈥檚 office as at an accounting firm.
The internships were often life-changing for the students, says Loughry, who helped the students navigate the program from start to finish. 鈥淢aybe when they went in, they didn鈥檛 know what they wanted to do,鈥 she says. But 鈥渟ometimes when they left, they were completely committed to another direction because of what they saw and what they experienced over their internship.鈥
Access鈥攊ncluding access to state government and to career opportunities鈥攊s important to Sykes. And that comes as no surprise to anyone who knows his story.
Though Sykes has served for more years in various political offices than most of his students have been alive鈥攖hree years as an Akron City Council member, 26 years in the Ohio House of Representatives, and now in his fifth year in the Ohio Senate鈥攈e did not always believe that such opportunities would be available to him.
鈥淲hen you鈥檝e been poor, and you鈥檙e a minority Black male from the inner city, and you start to see some of the challenges you face鈥攕ometimes you get a little discouraged,鈥 he says.
Sykes was one of five children raised in Akron by a single mother who needed welfare to make ends meet. As a pre-teen, Sykes thought the way to improve his circumstances鈥攁nd put a little money in his pocket鈥攚as working as a paper boy for the Akron Beacon Journal. But his mother saw things differently. She wanted Sykes to participate in the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Upward Bound program, which gives low-income students a better chance at attending college.
鈥淢y mother sat down with me and cried,鈥 Sykes recalls. 鈥淪he said that she didn鈥檛 have money to help me go to college. She didn鈥檛 go to college. She went to beauty school. And she doesn鈥檛 know that much about this program. But she knows that if I go . . . I鈥檓 going to have a better life. So I begrudgingly went to the program, and it was one of the best things that happened to me.鈥
He took college-level classes. He flew for the first time. He attended a live play. In other words, Sykes got to do and see things he never had before. 鈥淭hey brought me to an environment and just gave me the experience.鈥
And that is, after all, what he wanted to do for his students through the Columbus Program: to give them the chance to do and see things they never had before, and help them learn how they, too, can make a difference.
鈥淥ne of the most valuable things we learned from Dr. Sykes is that life will continue to evolve鈥攖hat you should focus on the moment you鈥檙e in but also know that it can change for the better.鈥
鈥擫ubna Najjar, BA 鈥08
Sykes鈥 Caucus
Through the Columbus Program, Vernon Sykes helped 367 students realize the impact that state government has on their lives. During orientation, he would gather that year鈥檚 cohort and say, 鈥淵ou are now The Caucus鈥濃攁 group of people meeting to support a movement鈥攁nd the students would elect the leadership for their cohort.
鈥淢any of them have stayed close,鈥 says Kathleen Loughry, the program鈥檚 administrative assistant. 鈥淭o this day, they will come to events we have. They are more than willing to promote the program.鈥
Here, four members of The Caucus look back on their experience with the Columbus Program and how it helped shape what they are doing today.
Matar Gueye and his Columbus Program classmates had a nickname for Sykes: A Cool Breeze.
While the 2010 cohort chose the phrase because of Sykes鈥 stylish attire and 鈥渟hiny car,鈥 Gueye says, the moniker held another meaning for him. In Sykes, Gueye saw a man who could do it all: 鈥淚t blew my mind that he was a state legislator and a professor.鈥
Gueye decided he wanted to be like that. Today he is the digital campaigns manager of BlueGreen Alliance鈥攁 nonprofit coalition of labor unions and environmental groups pushing for a cleaner environment and a clean, thriving economy. He balances managing multiple social media campaigns with crafting communications that go directly to legislators. On a recent day, Gueye helped draft a 鈥淏uild Back Better鈥 fact sheet sent to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer鈥檚 office, urging the politician to support investing in the manufacturing of clean vehicles and energy.
It鈥檚 a busy, demanding job. But Gueye says Sykes and the Columbus Program prepared him for it.
In the program, Gueye learned everything from how to send a professional cold email鈥攁 skill he used in President Barack Obama鈥檚 2012 reelection campaign鈥攖o the power of networking. He was so engrossed in the program, he says, that he got straight A鈥檚 for the first time in his 黑料网 career. And that was no small feat: 鈥淣othing gets past Vernon Sykes,鈥 Gueye laughs now. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 give anyone any breaks. He held everyone to account.鈥
You could say Madison Lisotto Whalen owes her career path to the Columbus Program. She certainly says it.
Whalen is a partner at CHW Advisors in Columbus, a full-service government and political affairs firm that helps clients navigate the regulatory and political landscape. She co-owns the firm with Matthew Carle and Melissa Hoeffel. Whalen interned for Hoeffel, an attorney, during the Columbus Program. And she credits Sykes for the placement. After exploring Whalen鈥檚 interest in law during a pre-program interview, he introduced her to Hoeffel and set her internship in motion.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of amazing that, 11 years later, I鈥檓 still working with her,鈥 says Whalen, who graduated from Capital University Law School in 2015. 鈥淎nd it was thanks to that connection that he [Sykes] made when I was explaining what my interests were.鈥
It鈥檚 also thanks, in part, to a Columbus Program lesson that Whalen took to heart as she met government officials, lobbyists and stakeholders. Sykes 鈥渢alked a lot about how far you can go with connections and, if you need a job, that you鈥檙e often going to get it through a connection,鈥 she says. 鈥淵ou hear that a lot when you鈥檙e an undergrad, but in the program, you could actually see it come to life.鈥
At CHW Advisors, Whalen focuses on lobbying the state legislature, a career she learned about in the Columbus Program. 鈥淭he Columbus Program teaches you about state government and lobbying, and how to work with legislators, and that鈥檚 exactly what my firm does,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 was very influenced by the program; it changed the trajectory of my whole career path.鈥
Politics may seem far removed from fashion, but for Columbus Program graduate Lubna Najjar, working within government helped her launch a successful fashion label, which she has since sold, and later, her Columbus-based women鈥檚 fashion business development firm, IL Moda.
Her fashion label鈥檚 biggest customers, Najjar says, were the legislative aides, lobbyists and attorneys she met through the Columbus Program. Today, when IL Moda hosts industry mixers, city council members and the mayor often attend.
As Najjar says, the business succeeds in Columbus in part because of her government work.
The Columbus Program launched Najjar into a series of government jobs鈥攊ncluding legislative aide in the Ohio State House of Representatives and policy analyst for the Ohio Board of Regents鈥攖hat ultimately helped her corporate career take off. And it all began with an internship at Homeland Security that wasn鈥檛 sufficiently challenging鈥攁nd a life lesson from Sykes.
When Najjar told Sykes she was not challenged enough by her internship, he suggested she volunteer with the Ohio Democratic Party. There, she canvassed for the reelection campaign of then-Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman. She gained a mentor in the mayor, and new insight.
鈥淥ne of the most valuable things we learned from Dr. Sykes is that life will continue to evolve鈥攖hat you should focus on the moment you鈥檙e in but also know that it can change for the better,鈥 she says. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e not happy in this exact moment, there are people who will help you.鈥
After attending a class at the Kent Campus that allowed him to explore the ins-and-outs of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Desmond Bryant knew he had to go into politics. And then he ran into his friend, Emilia Sykes, in Bowman Hall.
He told her about his newfound interest. She told him about the Columbus Program. 鈥淎nd the rest,鈥 he says, 鈥渋s history.鈥
Bryant entered the program, where he scored an internship with the governor鈥檚 (Gov. Strickland) administration. There he learned more about 鈥渨ho lobbyists are and what it is that they do,鈥 he says. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 kind of what sparked everything.鈥
Today, Bryant is the vice president of government relations at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, where he lobbies and advocates for small and large businesses throughout Central Ohio. He also works as a government affairs consultant for Thomas Ingram Law Group.
While his work is nuanced, Bryant, who earned a master鈥檚 degree in education policy and administration from the University of Dayton in 2012, sums things up this way: 鈥淚 build and cultivate relationships and partnerships with elected officials to work to influence policy.鈥
Knowing what that is worth, though, is something he can trace back to the Columbus Program and Vernon Sykes.
Sykes was excellent at 鈥渄rawing out greatness from within us,鈥 Bryant says. 鈥淪ome folks have it in them, but they don't know how to express it or how to carry themselves in a room. Dr. Sykes was able to help me with knowing my worth. He would say to me, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e in this program for a reason, so carry yourself in that way. Work the room. Meet as many people as you can. And tell people what you want to do and what you want to become, because folks will help you do it.鈥欌