Inspirational Feature by J1 Reporter Claire Kilborn

If you see this college student walking around, he won’t stand out in a crowd.  He doesn’t look any different than those around him. You’ll have to talk to him to learn about his interests and what makes him an inspiration. You will discover that he is passionate about politics and one political movement in particular.

Everyone has someone that inspires them. They can be as broad as a character from a movie or as simple as someone you know. Mitchell Kilborn is inspiring because he is very passionate about fixing political issues.

Kilborn is a senior at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. He is originally from Omaha, Nebraska and attended Creighton Preparatory High School. He is able to make it back to Omaha three or four times a year.  During the summer of 2015, Kilborn was an intern at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections. “Getting money out of politics makes it so the voice of everyone is heard equally,” Kilborn said. This isn’t just an issue in Maine, it is a problem everywhere in the United States. “Every office in the nation is effected by big money,” Kilborn said.

He called voters and tried to convince them to vote for the campaign to make the elections in Maine more fair and equal. Once he explained what he was calling about, the voters were enthusiastic. “Many people are upset about money in politics so this was a good way to address that,” Kilborn said.

Some people weren’t as happy to talk to him. “A little kid answered the phone and I asked if his dad was there. The little boy said, ‘Yes, let me go get him.’ I could hear his dad in the background telling him to tell me that he wasn’t available,” Kilborn said. Despite the rejection, Kilborn usually got a laugh out of the situation.Answering machines were another amusement during his calls. “One man’s voicemail said, ‘You’ve reached so and so, my teachers used to say I wasn’t good at picking things up, this must be one of them,’” Kilborn said.

“I have always followed the news and was really interested in American history,” Kilborn said. He got into politics because history is largely about politics and he loved learning about history. Although he was always interested in history, he did not become interested in politics until college. “The way that politics allows you to take a room of 100 people and come to a solution even though everyone has a different opinion about it” is Kilborn’s favorite part about politics. By doing something positive with his historical knowledge, Kilborn inspires others to appreciate history and how it is a major component of the government.

Kilborn is inspired by Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. “It was a book about how some people take advantage of other people, and that really bothered me,” Kilborn said. He uses politics as a way of addressing the unfairness in the world and to fix it so that people who have more power can’t take advantage of those who don’t.

Kilborn is also inspired by Jean Valjean from Les Miserables.  “He was so selfless and did so much good for everyone and didn’t take advantage of anybody,” Kilborn said. He liked how empathetic Valjean was, even though he is not a real person. In the story of Les Miserables, Valjean is a symbol of Jesus Christ, who is also another inspiration to Kilborn.

Whether or not you care about politics or anything history related, Kilborn inspires people to become more involved in their state and country elections and other political activities.  “There are more ways to get involved with politics than voting. Congresspeople pay attention to thoughtful handwritten letters and campaigns are always looking for good volunteers,” Kilborn said. “I think more girls should become involved in politics. There needs to be more women in the office,” Kilborn said.

Even though Kilborn doesn’t have any actual office goals, he still wants to fix political issues.  “I am more concerned with issues than candidates. My goal is to see full public financing available to every candidate running for office in the United States,” Kilborn said. The next time you hear people talking about elections, just remember that Kilborn is among many people who are trying to make politics more equal.