Civic Media and Engagement Platform
State of the Students is a civic media platform focused on making politics more understandable by highlighting the full range of public service. It doesn't just focus on elected officials, but also on the people behind the scenes who keep government running. Launched in 2020, the project was built on the idea that political power isn't limited to high office. It also includes roles like sanitation commissioners, budget directors, and district attorneys, people who shape how cities function every day. Through interviews, election explainers, and policy breakdowns, the goal has been to show how public institutions work and who is actually making decisions.
The platform is now run by a new cohort of high school students across the country to whom we've handed off leadership.
Project Background
The summer before my sophomore year of high school, I created an unconventional opportunity for myself by working at The Atlantic on the Public Opinion Data team, under Adrienne Green, then Managing Editor (now at The New York Times Magazine). After reading her 2016 article, "The Re-Politicization of America's Colleges," I wanted to understand how student political engagement had evolved by 2020. I took on the responsibility of gathering and analyzing reader responses for civic engagement surveys — designing questions, synthesizing perspectives, and identifying patterns in how people were thinking about politics during the pandemic.
By that fall, I had started to build a network of young political organizers and activists. One of them, Tal Yahalom (now studying Public Policy at UChicago), reached out with an idea: to build a national platform where students could break through the noise of political media and access nonpartisan, clear, and youth-centered insights on elections and candidates.
We called it State of the Students. Along with Brooke Turner (now studying sustainability at Cornell), I led projects in New York that reimagined how local politics is explained, with a focus on youth engagement and civic awareness across communities.
Metropolitan-Level Civic Coverage
The 2021 New York City mayoral election was one of the most pivotal in recent memory. As the city faced questions about pandemic recovery, policing, education, and housing, candidates brought very different visions to the table. But with so many names on the ballot, many young and first-time voters struggled to follow the race. This project aimed to make that election more accessible through clear, comparative civic media.
Down-Ballot Race Civic Media
Beyond national elections and high-profile races like the mayor's office, many voters overlook the significance of local elections. Positions such as comptroller and district attorney play crucial roles in managing city finances and overseeing legal systems — but they often get far less attention. These explainer videos were created to make those down-ballot races easier to understand, especially for younger voters.
Voices in Governance and Policy
Political engagement has traditionally happened in person (e.g. rallies, town halls, and canvassing), but the pandemic disrupted that. We originally planned to host these interviews in person over pizza, which is where the name "Pizza & Politics" came from. When everything moved online, we saw a chance to rethink how people connect with civic life. This interview series was our response. We wanted to highlight the different parts of governance, including people who didn't win elections and those working in roles that don't usually get much attention.