Eli Redfern ’16 is Looking for Students Interested in Politics and Public Service

By Matt Mandel '19

On February 11, Eli Redfern ’16, an Ohio Legislative Service Commission (LSC) Fellow, will return to campus to talk to students about opportunities for others to become LSC fellows, and how to get more involved in public policy in Ohio. The LSC program was established by the Ohio General Assembly over 50 years ago and sponsors more than twenty 13-month paid legislative fellowships each cycle, providing college graduates with practical experience in the legislative process.

Redfern, an Ohio native from Athens County, was a double major in economics and Spanish literature while at Kenyon. He was also involved in Canterbury Kenyon, an Episcopal group on campus, and was a member of the first class of Kenyon students to work and live on the Kenyon Farm.

After college, Redfern moved to Washington County, Maine, where he served as a member of the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, a national service program designed to alleviate poverty. While in rural coastal Maine, he worked with Mano en Mano, which translates to “hand in hand,” a program focused on helping farm workers and immigrants to settle and thrive in Maine.

“I had the chance to use my Spanish on a daily basis while also getting exposure to the social service world, case management, as well as community organizing and advocacy on the local level and state level,” Redfern explained.

He then took a position with Mano en Mano’s Maine Migrant Education Program (MEP), where Redfern continued working with the migrant farmer community by teaching conversational English. Later, he moved to Columbus to get back to his Ohio roots.

His Midwest relocation still allowed Redfern to be involved in bilingual education and the social service world. He also found employment in a small immigration law office. He then began exploring politics by working to support Democrats during the special election for Ohio’s 12th congressional district in August 2018. Soon after, he began the Ohio LSC fellowship, which he had heard about in spring 2018.

The fellowship provides opportunities to learn the inner-workings of state government, understand the legislative process, provide assistance to legislators and their constituents and explore careers in public service.

According to the Ohio LSC website, the fellowship begins the first week of December each year and continues through December 31 of the following year. The application period opens January 1 of every year. Applications for legislative positions are due on April 1 and applications for telecommunications positions close May 31. The only eligibility requirement is the completion of a bachelor’s degree before the fellowship starts.

Redfern is currently working for State Representative Jack Cera who represents Ohio’s 96th district in the Appalachian area. “It is an opportunity to use some of my social service and social justice interests on the state level,” he said.

In his senior year at Kenyon, Redfern focused on Spanish poetry specifically of the Franco era after studying abroad in Spain, and did his capstone project in economics on farm-to-table programs in schools.

“I kept going back to specific poets that had to do with rural issues and relationships with nature in rural areas,” he said.

As a native Ohioan with an educated background, Redfern feels pressure to leave small towns and rural areas, yet he is committed to taking part in communities in rural Ohio.

“I feel like it’s really important for me to return to southeast Ohio and become an involved community member there … It’s important to me to maintain those roots and keep that guiding star,” he said.

Redfern is looking forward to engaging with Kenyon students who are interested in politics and public service in Ohio.

“It’s an opportunity for recent college graduates to get involved in the Ohio state government in the Statehouse in Columbus. I feel like there are a ton of really smart people at Kenyon. I hope that more folks from Kenyon might be interested in getting involved in Ohio politics and life … I’m hoping to get more folks to come and get involved in social change,” he said.

On Monday, February 11, Redfern will table in Peirce Dining Hall at lunch, and will hold an information session in the Cheever Room in Finn House from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. He is looking forward to sharing more about the fellowship and how students can leverage it for potential career paths in the legislature, state government, or related areas.