Charlie Vaaler

I’m an adopted Korean American sophomore at Occidental College who is currently majoring in international relations and hopefully film. I’ve been politically active since 2016, and I have been involved in both local and national politics since 2020. The main reason I am politically active is due to my high school French teacher. She was super depressed about Trump winning the 2016 election that the rest of my sophomore year we watched Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Trevor Noah, and John Oliver. I didn’t learn any French that year, but I started to develop an interest in the American political system and all its crazy nuances. After my sophomore year, I was hooked on American politics and polls and read every Politico article, podcast, or book I could get my hands on. Watching every West Wing episode as a kid led me to believe I would love the grind of the campaign trail. After being lucky enough to work for a city council campaign for a bit, I realized I was much more interested in the story of politics. I’ve always loved stories since I was little. The more I’m exposed to the world, the more I believe storytelling can make all the difference. A good story can help change stubborn minds and inspire activists and progressives to pursue an agenda that could make the world better. My perfect career is pursuing those stories that change minds and inspire, just like Pod Save America or Ava Duvernay.