Recorded from Frostburg, Maryland, 2021.
This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.
Jessica Thayer (00:00): My name is Jessica Thayer. I'm a senior studying law philosophy at Frostburg State University. I'm the vice president of the student government association and the founder and president of our university debate team.
Jessica Thayer (00:14): It's going to be different for absolutely every single person. People come to America really looking for opportunity and unfortunately, our nation is not set up in a way that every single American citizen is on the same playing field. Black Americans and minoritized voices have been put down and equality and equity are still things that we are trying to find in this country. So you have to realize that the American dream is going to be different for absolutely every single person. But your job or I guess my job, being a productive member of my community and finding ways to build relationships is providing others with those opportunities.
Jessica Thayer (01:06): So I, as a white person, obviously have opportunities that others don't and I think that me as a woman, I have more opportunities than some men do in my community. And it's finding ways to navigate those barriers and learning from each other that I think makes a really successful community and in turn a really successful country.
Jessica Thayer (01:31): So, I think America is a place where diversity should be welcomed and we each have specializations and talents that let us succeed in each of our fields. But we rely on each other to have a productive society. One person can't be the master of all trades. So, just welcoming differences and learning how to elevate people who share a different background or experience than you do is how we learn to be successful.
Asset ID: 2021.03.11.a
