Last week, Kaitlin Ahern ’23 was introduced to President Joe Biden — and the proof is on his Instagram page.
Through an invitation via Pennsylvania College Democrats, Ahern got the opportunity to travel to Philadelphia to attend the Democratic National Committee’s various high-profile events and was even able to personally speak with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The road to this moment began years ago when Ahern became involved in Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign. At only eight years old, Ahern had her first encounter with the former POTUS. His encouraging words moved her passion for politics, an interest that has only grown as she got older.
“He addressed me as if I were a grown adult, and said the greatest thing about America is that anybody can make a difference,” she said.
As time has progressed, Ahern has increasingly come to realize the reality of this sentiment. She has been involved with all Democratic presidential campaigns in Pennsylvania since Obama’s. While working in a partisan manner off campus, her involvement touches nearly all political groups on campus, racking up positions including president of College Democrats, president and founder of the Bipartisan Coalition and board member of Lafayette Votes!
Throughout the most recent election cycle, Ahern channeled her passion for voter education and registration on campus.
“What I have worked on most on campus is raising civic awareness and education and registering students to vote,” Ahern said. “I worked pretty extensively with Lafayette Votes! this past election cycle … I think everyone who wants to vote should vote, and everyone should want to vote.”
In her repertoire of political involvement, meeting the current president adds only another accomplishment to her list. She remarked that it was an extremely special moment to personally thank Biden for his leadership thus far, and said how great it was to meet such a significant figure proudly from a town not so far from College Hill.
Biden and Ahern talked about a love of their shared hometown of Scranton, Pa.
“My favorite campaign slogan was Biden’s “Scranton versus Park Ave,” so to have a moment to talk about [it] with him was extremely sweet, especially expressing how proud everyone from back home feels,” Ahern said.