When Andrew Bates first stepped inside the Oklahoma State Capitol as an intern, he wanted to understand how public policy worked. Now, he is bringing what he learned back to Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City to help other students become more engaged in their communities.

Bates, an enterprise development student at OSU-OKC, spent the spring gaining firsthand experience in public policy while interning with state Sen. Julia Kirt. His work included tracking legislation, researching bills and supporting the day-to-day operations of a legislative office.

The experience gave Bates a closer look at how decisions are made and how citizens can participate in the process.

Now, Bates is working to share that knowledge with his fellow students through the Civic Engagement Club, a student organization he founded at OSU-OKC.

The organization is designed to help students understand the legislative process, learn about issues affecting their communities and find ways to become involved, whether that means voting, contacting elected officials, volunteering or participating in local government.

“I wanted to teach people how to register to vote, how to vote, where their polling places are, things like that,” Bates said.

But voting is only one part of the organization's mission.

Bates wants students to understand that civic engagement can take many forms and that students can have a voice in issues that affect their education, finances, communities and futures.

“There are so many things on the table that most students don’t even know about,” Bates said. “My goal is to get people involved, to help them understand what’s happening and find what matters to them.”

That philosophy grew out of Bates’ own experience at the Capitol.

After initially reaching out to legislators by email, Bates secured his internship and began learning directly from legislative staff. He has encouraged other students to take the same approach.

“Put yourself out there and make the effort to connect,” Bates said. “Even if you’re not sure you want to intern, reach out and talk to your legislators. They always need help, especially during the legislative session.”

The student organization is giving Bates another opportunity to put that philosophy into practice.

During the spring, he began laying the groundwork for the organization. This fall, students have participated in civic activities beyond the OSU-OKC campus, including a visit to the State Capitol for Capitol Conversations, where they heard from legislators and participated in public comment.

For Bates, those experiences are important because they can make the government feel more accessible.

“You sort of build up this idea of what these people are like, or what talking to them would be like, and it's like, ‘Oh, they're just normal humans,’” Bates said.

Several OSU-OKC students participated in public comment during the Capitol visit, speaking about issues including maternity leave for teachers and bilingual education.

Seeing his classmates participate reinforced Bates’ belief that students do not need to be experts in government or public policy to have a voice.

“It's not about partisanship,” Bates said. “Whatever your opinions are, whatever you care about, I want to teach you how to get engaged, and try and take part and make the change, whatever change it is you want.”

The organization's focus on participation also aligned with OSU-OKC's Constitution Day activities on Sept. 17, when the college hosted a voter registration event on campus.

For Bates, Constitution Day provided another opportunity to emphasize the importance of students understanding their role in a representative government.

Steven E. Collins, J.D., said civic participation is particularly important in today's political climate.

“Civic engagement is critical in today's political climate. Letter-writing, voting and peaceful assembly are hallmarks of our democratic experiment. It is imperative that citizens stay vigilant and aware of the issues. Elected officials work for us, not the other way around,” Collins said.

Bates hopes the organization will continue to give students opportunities to move from learning about civic engagement to practicing it.

Future activities may include bringing legislators to campus, helping students find internships and volunteer opportunities, visiting the State Capitol and connecting students with community organizations.

“It's basically just to get students to get outside of their own little social bubble and just take part in everything around them in their community,” Bates said.

For Bates, that work represents the next step in a journey that began when he decided to email to ask how he could get involved in his state government.

His Capitol experience showed him how the process works. Now, he wants other OSU-OKC students to know they can be part of it, too.