A career update from 2011 alumni, Jordan Overstreet.
Like so many alumni, I came to Missouri State from a small town of 4,500, or roughly 25 percent of the student population. I made the decision to attend based on location, its strong support of the Holt V. Spicer Debate Forum, and a campus that immediately felt like home. For some, being a needle in a haystack is not a pleasant experience; however, it allowed me to begin to discover a much larger world, introduced me to a variety of opinions and cultures, and gave me the autonomy to figure out who I was. This in turn opened my eyes to an even greater world, one that gave me a perspective of countless opportunities and made me appreciate even more the town where I grew up.
I quickly found a home on the debate team and then began to get involved with other organizations, like the Sierra Club and a brief stint with the Model UN organization. It was during my time with the Sierra Club that I found my true passion: organizing people to create change. The previous chapter president, who also happened to be a former debate partner, encouraged me to get involved with the campaign to oppose the passage of a dirty coal-fired power plant in Springfield.
In addition to helping recruit volunteers and knocking on doors, I also learned that building a coalition means a diversity of opinions uniting for a specific goal (fiscally conservative activists opposing the inevitable rate hikes and left-leaning environmental activists opposed to the risks such a plant posed to our environment and public health). Even though we lost that battle, I stuck with the organization and was introduced to candidates and elected officials and the campaigns they ran. The seed was sown.
It was an Intro to Public Policy course taught by Dr. Mark Rushefksy that truly solidified my interest in getting involved in facilitating progress. The course helped me gain a better understanding of many of the issues facing Americans and involved a rigorous analysis of what was and was not working. It was the first of several courses that I took with Dr. Rushefsky that helped instill in me a persistent curiosity about public policy solutions and their feasibility.
To say that I am not a strong student would be an understatement. It’s also safe to say that my GPA helped make the top half of the class possible, but I learned how to think critically and with an open mind, as well as how to problem-solve both inside and outside of the classroom.
Since graduation I’ve found a career working in Democratic politics. For the past 10 years, I’ve managed campaigns for state representatives, large city mayoral races, Congressional and U.S. Senate campaigns. I even served as a state director for a Presidential campaign in 2020. The career is challenging, but I walk into the office and meetings with confidence from the experience I earned as a Bear.