When the Être Girl You Met in Middle School Announces Her First Run for Office
I met Laalitya Acharya in 2017 when she was named a finalist in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Être was only a year old, Laalitya was 13, and I was interviewing her about all the ways she wanted to change the world.
I smile when I think about it, because that same year I wrote an article for HuffPost about encouraging the next generation to run for office – it was titled getting today’s girls on tomorrow’s ballots.
And now today – for the first time in Être’s history – a girl I met in middle school has announced her run for office.
The years have come full circle in the blink of an eye, and I simply could not be prouder.
I’m proud because Laalitya Acharya was a change-maker from the moment I watched her 3M contest entry video and heard that she was bringing her renewable energy invention to her community in Mason, Ohio.
I’m proud because four years later when she gave her Être TED-Ed talk in our inaugural season she sought to inspire other teens to experiment at home and become leaders through scientific innovation.
And I’m proud because when we sat together last week in NYC and she unveiled the campaign website that would launch the following day, I knew that the changes she envisions for the 56th District of Ohio will not only inspire the next generation of thinkers but energize a new platform of voters.
I couldn’t wait to hear and share more, so below is an edited version of our conversation. Get ready to be inspired...
Ê: I'm so excited about this I almost don't know where to start. But let's begin with middle school - you’ve been involved with innovation and advocacy for over 10 years and there has been no brass ring you went for that you did not achieve - from awards to scholarships to graduate degrees. Now it seems you’re going to reach back to that next middle schooler in Ohio and make her world better. Tell me exactly what you want to do for her?
LA: I know and thank you! First off, I want to make sure that her middle school is funded. If elected, I would represent the biggest public high school in Ohio - the one that I graduated from - and so many of our programs there are ending. We need to make sure that public education stays strong and funded, because that's our future. I want to make sure that life is affordable for that girl that we’re thinking about so she can find success at school.
“My generation - even if we worked hard and did well in school - is struggling. You know, we worked really hard in middle school and high school, earned Ivy League degrees in engineering or other STEM fields that everybody said would set us up for success…and yet we’re still struggling. The path we thought would lead to solid career success if we just worked hard enough isn’t actually leading us there.”
That’s a problem happening right now across America. My generation doesn’t don't know if we're going be able to afford a home, if we can afford to have kids, to even find a job in the current economy. That’s what I want to make sure doesn’t keep happening to the rising generation – I want to make sure that people can plan their lives, live with dignity, that they can do the basic things that build a future. Because it shouldn't be a crazy idea that somebody working 40 hours a week can make ends meet, right?
Ê: Entirely true, and I think that's something on which your generation is clearly focused. And the young women in your generation I meet are incredibly hard working and dedicated!
LA: Yes! I think what people mistake about Gen Z is that we're not hard working. But the problem is we don't know where to work within the system as it stands. We don't know what to do because we've done everything people told us, right? The future is not unrolling the way we were promised…but we're not asking for crazy things. We’re talking about making ends meet and building futures and families. We should be able to make that happen.
Ê: What else made you want to run?
LA: I first became aware of politics in 2016 because I wanted to feel hopeful. I think this is another thing that's true about my generation - we haven’t felt hope in our political system for a long time. I was five years old when Barack Obama got elected for the first time; I was nine years old when he got reelected. By 2016 I was 13 years old, and that's what I distinctly remember: I remember the vitriol. I remember the hate. I remember thinking that I'd wake up to the first female president, and that did not happen. So, my entire adult life has been filled with a version of politics that has not felt hopeful, and where I don't believe that both sides of the table want what's best for America.
“ think that there was a time where, even if we believed in different paths to get there, both sides of the aisle believed that in the end politics would be the thing to make American citizens’ lives better. I think 2016 was the big, pivotal moment in so many young people’s lives, in terms of wanting to get more involved. It definitely was a catalyst for me.”
Ê: Because you had worked in or near politics before, right?
LA: Yes, but when you are working adjacent to politics, you don't have as much of a say in the ways that you might hope, and that part of what I want to reform. I've interned in congressional offices before – in Chuck Schumer’s New York State Office, in Jerry Nadler’s New York State Office, and I served my hometown rep representative on Capitol Hill - and I loved all those experiences! But I think what's difficult to come to terms with is when you are adjacent to politics it’s ultimately about the policymakers’ votes. I want to be in the rooms where data is presented and decisions are made, to bring my own influence and benefit the people I represent. That’s part of the reason I’m running a campaign that's fully grassroots and that doesn't take corporate PAC money. I don’t want to be beholden to somebody else - only to my constituents. I want to bring reform from inside the system, and I plan to do it in a very constituent-focused way.
Ê: I love that. Are there any role models or mentors in your life you feel have influenced your decision to run?
LA: Definitely! If I had to list three, I would say Reshma Saujani, Gretchen Whitmer and Amy Acton – who is running for governor in my state of Ohio right now!
Ê: I honestly cannot wait to watch this all happen. Okay, last question: how did your friends react when you announced last week you were running?
LA: My friends are excited for me…and they're worried for me. It's all the feelings at the same time! But the biggest thing is that they know how right this decision feels for me. I know I want to do this. I want to run. I want to win. Anyone who knows me knows I will do all the work – because I believe passionately in these issues.
“By showing the electorate that young people can run, that young people are viable for office, that Gen Z makes up a significant portion of the voting block right now, brings people to the polls and cares about issues – that is energizing.”
It’s the idea – whether you hear it in a campaign video or see it on TikTok – that someone in our generation believes that real change can happen and wants to go out there and bring it – that’s what needs to happen and that’s what I can’t wait to do.
And I meant it when I said I can't wait to watch it happen. With huge thanks to Laalitya Acharya for catching up before her announcement and gratitude in advance to everyone helping her power this run, I remain more hopeful than ever about the future.
Because, when the next generation cares about issues as early as middle school or high school, and takes those beliefs from their very first vote in the booth to seeing their name on a ballot, anything can happen.
Let's watch it together.
Looking forward,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Three more ways to get the next gen excited about running for office you won't want to miss: check out She Should Run (and their latest Impact Report), All In Together and Girls In Politics for the youngest set. No one is too young to believe they can make a difference.
