Make passions come to life: The formation of Franklin College Across the Aisle
It’s Welcome Week at Franklin College, and you’re walking around the activities fair, trying to find the perfect organizations to join. Though you see plenty of interesting options, you struggle to find an organization that ignites a specific passion, so what do you do? If you’re like recent Franklin College graduate Griffin Reid, you create your own!
“When I first came to Franklin, I tried to gain leadership roles in different organizations by taking smaller roles, and I could have continued to pursue that. But I really cared about forming Franklin College Across the Aisle because the idea behind it interested me. So, it was pretty awesome to be able to take something that I cared about and was interested in and set up the whole organization in a way that it would work.” – Reid
The Shelbyville, Indiana, native created Franklin College Across the Aisle after an internship with Indiana’s Republican Party. The group originally wanted their intern to start College Republicans on the Franklin College campus — an idea Griffin was not entirely comfortable with — but his professor Alli Fetter-Harrott, Ph.D., convinced the double major in political science and history to take a slightly different approach to the Republican Party’s ideas.
As a result, the proud Sigma Alpha Epsilon brother partnered with another passionate student to create Franklin College Across the Aisle, an organization dedicated to promoting political awareness. They achieve this goal through numerous means, such as helping members earn internships or meeting with Indiana’s top political influencers like Senator Todd Young.
Overall, creating FC Across the Aisle has given Griffin the ability to gain fruitful experiences outside the classroom. While Franklin College’s liberal arts curriculum enhances students’ time within classroom settings, the Franklin college graduate also recognizes the importance of seeking professionalism in other areas of your life to be endlessly ready for the workplace.
“You’re not going to learn everything you need to know for the professional field through reading. When you go into a job interview, they won’t ask you if you’ve read a book, they’ll ask you what you’ve done that will help them. It’s important to read and important to know what you’re talking about, but actually getting the hands-on experience through internships or interactive classes is what is going to benefit you in a career field.” – Reid
Anyone can go to class, but make learning come to life? That’s up to you. Schedule your visit today and see how you can make the college experience your own at Franklin College.