Politics. It is a topic that causes an array of thoughts and emotions among many of us. It is an area that is highly controversial and often avoided. However, while some people run from it, others embrace it.
Junior women’s lacrosse player Hayley Drapkin is part of the latter group. She is someone who wants to be a part of it all, someone who is always working towards a solution, someone who wants to make a difference.
“Since elementary school, I have been an avid member of student council, striving for the betterment of my school and community,” Drapkin said. “I have long believed in the positive impact of political involvement in the world and see a real need to motivate more people to be actively involved. This passion is what drove me to Oberlin and has only grown during my time here.”
The communications director for the Oberlin College Democrats Club, Drapkin is continually finding ways to blend together her media skills within the political sector as she sees technology and digital marketing as the key components in every field of politics.
With the ever-changing media landscape and 24-hour news cycle we now live in, information can be found in seconds and this can be both a positive and a negative. The immediacy of it all creates a higher need for properly vetting the information and ensuring the correctness of it all.
“Social media, and media in general, has pushed politicians and politics in general toward transparency,” she noted. “This move has created the ‘fake news’ agenda in media as well as the need to better manage these resources in the future.”
A politics major with minors in computer science and English, Drapkin was one of 12 students who earned a prestigious Cole Scholarship last spring. Throughout the summer of 2017, she participated in the Oberlin Initiative in Electoral Politics, working for Jason Crow of the 6th Congressional District in Colorado.
“It was very transformative,” she said of experience working with Crow. “It was hard work and my jobs ranged greatly. I think the biggest thing I took away from it was a more explicit career path. Technology and politics are at the brink of intersecting fully. Yet, no one campaign has done the perfect job aggregating voter information, creating strong and engaging web content, and managing social media in an interesting and sustainable way.”
She got her first opportunity to serve in the political sector in her home state of Colorado under Congressman Jared Polis. Drapkin, who is currently working on his campaign for mayor as the website developer, started as an intern in 2016. She worked as a press and digital intern, using her social media skills to promote the congressman.
“I hope to have an impact, long term. I want to work to improve each of these sectors and learn what it means to run a tech-forward political campaign.”
In the fall of 2017, Drapkin studied with the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) Central European Studies program in Budapest, Hungary, at Corvinus University. Her classes focused on her two passions – politics and digital marketing. Her favorite classes were in web development and digital marketing, both of which are not offered at Oberlin.
While overseas, she also had the opportunity to intern with public relations firm, FWD Affairs that targets English-speaking audiences. She obtained valuable skills in international relations while gearing communications for those who use English as a second language.
Drapkin has continued to hone and develop her social media skills during her Oberlin tenure by working for various digital media companies and start-ups such as InfoBox and Sheets & Giggles.
The team leader in assists on the women’s lacrosse team, Drapkin is constantly using her strong communication skills out on the field to make the team successful in every way possible.
“Everything I love doing is based on good communication and playing lacrosse is a big part of that. We have a unique team spirit and unity, and we are a tiny family on campus.”
While Drapkin has another year and a half on campus with her teammates, she already has a postgraduate plan in place. Following graduation, she hopes to obtain a job in the tech sector working for a Fortune 500 company or startup.
“I hope to learn everything I can about developing good techniques, managing technology, and social responsibility, and growing my knowledge of best practices before eventually pursing an MBA.”
Drapkin sees value in obtaining an MBA and feels it will open doors to help make the type of impact she wants in the political and tech world. In the end, she hopes to work fully on the marriage of technology and politics, managing the tech side of a political or social campaign in a progressive way.
In the meantime, she and her tiny family on campus will continue to educate themselves socially and academically while working towards a North Coast Athletic Conference championship.
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