Emerson’s Communication Politics and Law Association hits D.C.

Twelve students in Emerson’s Communication Politics and Law Association (CPLA), along with Communication Studies Associate Professor Gregory Payne, visited Washington, D.C., April 15-18. The trip was organized to give students an opportunity to meet alumni and professionals working at the federal level of politics and media.

“The goal of the trip is to give participants a feel for the city, the career paths in it, and the Emerson connections scattered about,” said Communication Politics and Law Association member Aaron Bacon ’10.

The group met with alumni, including:

• U.S. State Department employee Rael Ammon ’08
• Republican National Committee war room director Kathryn M. Grosso ’05
• National Journal reporter Martin Matishak ’03
• Peter Loge ’87, a Democratic lobbyist and former instructor in the Emerson D.C. Semester;
• Republican lobbyist Philip Maggi ’93
• Fred Baldassaro ’96, an Obama appointee to the U.S. Treasury.

The students also took a tour of National Public Radio’s D.C. studios and met with the Department of Housing and Urban Development Under-Secretary Ron Sims.

“One of the trip’s goals is to show how Emerson political graduates work on both sides of the political spectrum,” said Bacon.

Students who attended include: Aaron Bacon ’10, Alana Olson ’10, Christopher Boutillier ’10, Samantha Ostrom ’13, Holly Van Leven ’13, Sarah Betancourt ’11, Alejandro Castillo ’12, Daniel Tick ’12, Christopher Thompson ’10, Katie-Coral Sicora ’10, Kathryn Smucker ’10, and Rachel Campbell ’11.