[VacioArconte]

Attending the NAC was a very unique experience that showed us the inner workings of Washington like no other tour. Getting to speak with your representatives themselves feels like democracy at its finest. I personally enjoyed the ability to meet new people - as we were learning about STEM legislation and how to lobby, there were several activities that let us interact and get to know other teams. It really felt like we were at least raising awareness of STEM education issues among the legislators we spoke with. At the end, my friends and I were much more articulate speakers than when we arrived at the beginning of the conference. I strongly recommend both engineering and non-engineering students to attend, if only so that they may learn about why not every student has the ability, resources, knowledge or motivation to succeed, and what they can do to fix these problems.