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| Thanks to our sister Jen for the great photo shoot! |
November turned out to be a lot more eventful than we thought it would be. It all began with the election. One of my best friends, Owen Fuller, and I decided we wanted to help the Romney campaign in the closing stretch. We discussed going to Nevada or Colorado as both were swing states, but weren't really sold on either one. Out of the blue, I suggested we consider Ohio, as every election comes down to Ohio. Owen, busy as he is starting his own business, said it sounded crazy enough that he would consider it. We thought about renting a car, but after travel time that would only give us a couple days to help campaign. What really got the ball rolling was when my brother-in-law Isaac offered to use some of his sky miles to cover my flight! I was blown away by his kindness, and thrilled that it would fray the costs and allow more time to help out. He also mentioned he had a sister-in-law in Cleveland that we could probably stay with, so we booked the flight to Cleveland, which really is the battleground of the battleground state. I told Owen I got the ticket, and he said he was still on the fence. However, within a couple days, he got a ticket of his own. I was elated, and the trip would turn out a lot better because he was there! The way I booked the flight, I had about 5 days to help campaign, and a few extra days afterwards to tour the University of Michigan and University of Chicago, as I am very interested in studying at either of their law schools.
A couple days before departure, we got an offer to stay with the Taylors. Katie was a friend of mine in high school, and her husband Samuel is a really nice guy. We thought that would be best since Ike's sister-in-law had been hosting people in her house all week due to superstorm Sandy. They had a fun, World War II-era home that was beautifully remodeled. They took good care of us, and we worked hard day and night. We volunteered at the Romney victory center in Richmond Heights. We spent most of the daylight hours knocking on doors of Republican voters who were likely to vote for Romney just to make sure they would actually get out to the polls. In the evenings, we would make phone calls to homes in Cuyahoga County. One of the days we helped by handing out signs and other materials at a Romney rally, where we were standing front row his speech. Afterwards we shook his hand, which was pretty cool. I haven't washed my hands since then.
Election day was the highlight of the trip, and it was especially demanding--Owen and I volunteered to wake up at 4:00 in the morning so we could put up signs at voting polls throughout the county. We had a bunch of extra signs at the end, so we put them in what we felt were the most strategic locations...
That same day, we were making phone calls at the victory center when we got word that Mitt and Paul Ryan would be visiting our small office, and only our office, later that morning! We got to work as quickly as possible to make sure the office was presentable for Romney, Ryan, and the media. One by one the Secret Service started trickling in and scanning us to make sure the premises was safe. Not long after, some Republican VIP's started coming in, including top fundraisers and campaign advisors. It was pretty cool to have them there with us in a room about the size of the living room where I am typing this post. For me, I felt like it was a little sign that we were at the right place at the right time. Out of all the thousands of victory centers throughout the country, ours was the one Romney visited on Election Day! It was a reminder of how critical the work we were doing was. We were determined to give that final day our very best effort for every minute. We were instructed to keep taking phone calls even as Romney and Ryan were inspecting the office. We kept making calls until Romney called us around him and Ryan. We were huddled like a football team, and he talked about his confidence in the results due to the help of volunteers
After the polls closed, we headed to the Holiday Inn in the town of Independence for the GOP election night party. It was fun to hang out with the people who had put in so many hours to help out the Romney campaign. There was lots of good food and drinks (non-alcoholic of course!), and a couple large screens so we could watch the results come in. The initial numbers looked good, but as the swing states started to swing towards Obama, there was an ominous mood in the hall. There were some boos and concerned whispers as things started to slip away. Sure enough, around midnight the election was called. It was painful to watch Romney give his concession speech. The pain was probably exacerbated because I had seen him that very day. It was painful enough for me after putting in a full week of work to help out, but I can't imagine what it felt like for him and his family. In the end, I am very, very glad I went because I was able to contribute instead of bang my head against a well. I am grateful for family back at home who was cheering on our efforts.
So, that was Ohio. The morning after the election I boarded a bus to Ann Arbor so I could tour the law school at the University of Michigan. Upon arrival I dropped by the admissions office. They had two 1L students chosen to give me a tour. They were cordial and intelligent, and seemed to have been "coached" on how to deal with a BYU graduate :) I loved the law school facilities, especially the reading room. I would not mind studying in that room. It was actually the third option for the mess hall in the Harry Potter movie, but Oxford won the bid for that. Here's the reading room...
After thanking the students for their terrific tour, I met with Lindsey on the admissions council, and she answered my numerous questions. Michigan's law school moved up a couple spots on my list of favorites. I will definitely apply there. Afterwards, I met up with Jeff Edwards by the reading room. Jeff was in my freshman ward at BYU, but I had no idea he was at Michigan until I found him on the JRCLS website the prior week. He offered me to stay at his place, and he showed me around the beautiful campus. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were great hosts. I could tell they enjoyed living in Ann Arbor, even if there aren't as many LDS students as some other law schools. The town seemed safe and vibrant, with a really cool arts scene. The three of us met with Robert Couch at Zingerman's Deli for dinner--delicious!
Election day was the highlight of the trip, and it was especially demanding--Owen and I volunteered to wake up at 4:00 in the morning so we could put up signs at voting polls throughout the county. We had a bunch of extra signs at the end, so we put them in what we felt were the most strategic locations...
That same day, we were making phone calls at the victory center when we got word that Mitt and Paul Ryan would be visiting our small office, and only our office, later that morning! We got to work as quickly as possible to make sure the office was presentable for Romney, Ryan, and the media. One by one the Secret Service started trickling in and scanning us to make sure the premises was safe. Not long after, some Republican VIP's started coming in, including top fundraisers and campaign advisors. It was pretty cool to have them there with us in a room about the size of the living room where I am typing this post. For me, I felt like it was a little sign that we were at the right place at the right time. Out of all the thousands of victory centers throughout the country, ours was the one Romney visited on Election Day! It was a reminder of how critical the work we were doing was. We were determined to give that final day our very best effort for every minute. We were instructed to keep taking phone calls even as Romney and Ryan were inspecting the office. We kept making calls until Romney called us around him and Ryan. We were huddled like a football team, and he talked about his confidence in the results due to the help of volunteers
After the polls closed, we headed to the Holiday Inn in the town of Independence for the GOP election night party. It was fun to hang out with the people who had put in so many hours to help out the Romney campaign. There was lots of good food and drinks (non-alcoholic of course!), and a couple large screens so we could watch the results come in. The initial numbers looked good, but as the swing states started to swing towards Obama, there was an ominous mood in the hall. There were some boos and concerned whispers as things started to slip away. Sure enough, around midnight the election was called. It was painful to watch Romney give his concession speech. The pain was probably exacerbated because I had seen him that very day. It was painful enough for me after putting in a full week of work to help out, but I can't imagine what it felt like for him and his family. In the end, I am very, very glad I went because I was able to contribute instead of bang my head against a well. I am grateful for family back at home who was cheering on our efforts.
So, that was Ohio. The morning after the election I boarded a bus to Ann Arbor so I could tour the law school at the University of Michigan. Upon arrival I dropped by the admissions office. They had two 1L students chosen to give me a tour. They were cordial and intelligent, and seemed to have been "coached" on how to deal with a BYU graduate :) I loved the law school facilities, especially the reading room. I would not mind studying in that room. It was actually the third option for the mess hall in the Harry Potter movie, but Oxford won the bid for that. Here's the reading room...
After thanking the students for their terrific tour, I met with Lindsey on the admissions council, and she answered my numerous questions. Michigan's law school moved up a couple spots on my list of favorites. I will definitely apply there. Afterwards, I met up with Jeff Edwards by the reading room. Jeff was in my freshman ward at BYU, but I had no idea he was at Michigan until I found him on the JRCLS website the prior week. He offered me to stay at his place, and he showed me around the beautiful campus. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were great hosts. I could tell they enjoyed living in Ann Arbor, even if there aren't as many LDS students as some other law schools. The town seemed safe and vibrant, with a really cool arts scene. The three of us met with Robert Couch at Zingerman's Deli for dinner--delicious!
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