Cassidy Whitaker, a Saint Leo alumni who majored in political science and minored in journalism, graduated last Spring and making a significant impact in her local community. Whitaker currently works as the District Secretary for State Representative Adam Hattersley of Florida’s 59th House District covering a region within eastern Hillsborough County. Her job roles include managing the district office and handling constituent service within the district. Since graduation, she had a “whirlwind” experience – as she described it – because she had various jobs before she was hired onto her current one; her various jobs were in her political realm during the campaigning for the most recent midterm election.
“I worked two other jobs prior to my current one. My graduation in late April was right at the brink of when most of the midterm election campaigns were gearing up for the primaries in August, so I first worked two campaign jobs during the summer and fall after graduating,” said Whitaker. “First, for State Representative Amber Mariano’s re-election campaign for her House seat and then for Kimberly Overman’s campaign for a seat on the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. I was very lucky and feel so grateful to have made the connections that I did that gave me the opportunity to work for these two women’s campaigns that helped me get to where I am now.”
She described her experience working on the campaigns last year, and she compared working on actual campaigns versus her previous experiences volunteering for campaigns.
Whitaker worked on Kimberly Overman’s campaign last year. Overman won the election to become the new county comissioner for Hillsborough County. Credit: Cassidy Whittaker
“I had volunteered for a major campaign in the past and had some very limited experience with mock campaigns for my classes and helping my friends with their SGU races, but this summer was my first time ever working full time as a legitimate campaign staffer, and campaigns are hard. They’re exhausting and stressful and challenging, but they’re also so rewarding and enriching and give you the opportunity to meet the most incredible people,” said Whitaker.
Along with working on campaigns for SLU elections and engaging in mock campaigns during her classes, Cassidy had various leadership roles on campus, including Editor-In-Chief of The Lions’ Pride, which prepared her for her post-graduation jobs.
“My studies and everything that I learned and experienced at Saint Leo impact my job every day. The courses that I took, the opportunities I seized, and the professors that guided and taught me throughout my time at Saint Leo are the foundation of my knowledge of the political process and the significant effect of politics on our daily lives within our country and around the world. Of course, there’s a lot that you can learn in the field as you go, but there’s also a whole lot that you need to understand beforehand to be effective in creating the most change possible,” said Whitaker.
She also contrasted her post-grad experiences regarding her work life with her home life, which she described it as surprisingly pleasant. She mentioned that she was not looking forward to moving back home, but talked about the benefits of doing it.
“Like many college seniors approaching graduation, I dreaded moving back home after living with my friends in my own place for four years (sorry, mom),” said Whitaker. “Although I quickly realized after being home that I really enjoyed being back with my family and other close friends that I hadn’t spent meaningful time with in a long time.”
Her friends were also very impactful to her Saint Leo experience, and she mentioned regrets regarding her final semester at Saint Leo.
“One [thing]that I have that I wish I had done before graduating was make and complete a ‘Saint Leo bucket list’ with silly experiences unique to our school like going to the Grotto at night or sharing one last night at Pin Chasers or Applebee’s with my friends. I told my friends that I wanted to do this throughout my final semester, but sadly got caught up with the chaos that your last semester in college entails and never ended up doing it. However, despite not officially making my Saint Leo bucket list, I had an absolutely unforgettable final semester,” said Whitaker.
She even advised seniors to learn from her mistakes and to spend time enjoying their final semester at Saint Leo.
“My advice for the senior class would be to enjoy every moment of this last semester and take advantage of every last opportunity available to you. I know this is what literally every nostalgic post-grad says, but it really is the truth. Although I’m very happy with where I’m at in my life now, there are very few days that go by that I don’t miss Saint Leo and the blissful simplicity of life in college,” said Whitaker.
She also took time to give advice to freshman, focusing on how they can appreciate and cherish their time and their overall journey at Saint Leo.
“Advice that I would give to the freshman class about graduation would be to not wish that it would come sooner. Work hard in your classes and get as much out of the remarkable professors and courses that Saint Leo has to offer as possible and seek out and take advantage of the experiences to be had from every possible opportunity available, but savor your time here and don’t wish it away. As far as after college, I’d say to just trust that Saint Leo has prepared you for the bright and successful future that lies ahead of every one of its graduates.”
She commented on the months following graduation, and what she wished she knew but what she had learned since then.
“Before graduation, I wish I had known that the next nearly seven months were going to be some of the most challenging times of my life, but that afterwards everything was going to be unbelievably worth it and that I was going to end up exactly where I’m supposed to be,” said Whitaker.
Other than talking of time at Saint Leo and her post-grad challenges, Whitaker looks to her future as well. She mentioned a future career goal and how her current position as a district secretary can help her in achieving her goals.
“My ultimate career goal is to run for office someday. I don’t yet know what I want to run for or when I’d even feel fully ready to do something that big, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that public service is what I want to do,” said Whitaker. “My current job as a staffer for a legislator will definitely aide me in reaching my ultimate goals in the future because I’m getting to experience the political process firsthand and help serve the members of my community with issues they care about and that affect their lives. You hear the phrase ‘All politics is local’ a lot in my field, and I really believe that this couldn’t be truer. Politics is fundamentally rooted in grassroots organization and the work of passionate activists, and it all starts at the local level.”
