05/12/2026
Students in State & Local Government — a Civic Action Lab course offered by the Gephardt Institute for the first time this spring — traveled to Springfield, Illinois this month to tour the Capitol and meet with state officials.
The trip was the final excursion for the course, in which students also visited St. Louis City and Clayton city halls, St. Louis County Council, and the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City. At each destination, they met with local and state officials and learned about their government structures, levers of policymaking, and how they engage with their citizens and work to meet their needs. For Valentina Zapata ’28, the visits opened her eyes to the opportunities for people of all levels of experience to be involved with their local and state governments.
“I talked to one representative who said that she was a middle school or high school teacher, didn't go to law school, did not get a major in policy or anything, and she just learned from the experience, and then she started getting the hang of it,” Zapata said. “That really made me feel more secure. Now I feel like this is a possible route.”
While at the Illinois Capitol, Zapata and her State & Local Government classmates met with Sen. Erica Harriss (R-Metro East); Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Metro East); Marvin Williams, Deputy Director and Manager of Intergovernmental Relations for the Illinois Department of Corrections; and David Gross, Senior Vice President of Government Relations & Communications for the Illinois Hospital Association.
“We had a thoughtful conversation about state and local government, public service, and the challenges of balancing different policy priorities,” wrote Stuart in a Facebook post after the visit. “It’s always encouraging to see students so engaged and interested in making a difference. Programs like the Civic Action Lab are helping shape the next generation of leaders — and I have no doubt they’ll do great things.”
The Civic Action Lab course is instructed by Alannah Glickman, Associate Director for Civic Engagement at Gephardt, and Tracy Henke, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center St. Louis, who has extensive experience lobbying and advising officials on policy issues.
The course, Zapata explained, made accessing officials, and the avenues for policy advocacy, a less daunting endeavor.
“I think for anyone feeling nervous about their future in politics, it really opens your eyes to see how accessible it is,” said Zapata. “I feel like a lot of people don't think it's accessible, even to engage politically, but it's a lot more accessible than I realized.”
