Megan Springer is a sophomore legal studies major at Nova Southeastern University from Indiana. She is the president and founder of NSU’s chapter of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), an organization dedicated to educating students on free speech, limited government and fiscal responsibility.
In February, I was invited by my employer to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. after starting a chapter at NSU for Turning Point, USA. When I found out that I was invited, I was overjoyed. I had never been to our nation’s capital — or even close to it — and now I was going to spend four days exploring D.C. and spending time with 100 of my coworkers and friends, some of whom I consider family.
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is a four-day long conference with thousands of like-minded individuals. I got to interact, hang out and have full conversations with Tomi Lahren, Ben Shapiro and Dana Loesch. I was only 100 feet away from the Vice President of the United States and my past governor Mike Pence, and the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Caption: Springer poses with her colleagues at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference.
One of the coolest experiences was that I was able to be on Fox News twice and was actually shown in a pan of the crowd on Fox’s “Hannity.” Listening and being so close to these “big names” — some of whom I look up to as role models — in the conservative movement was one of the most eye-opening and affirming experiences of my life. There was just something magical about being surrounded with those who have the same values and ideas as you, and at CPAC there were thousands of people to speak to. Throughout my time at CPAC, I was able to connect with on-campus gun advocate Antonia Okafor.
I was also gifted a five-year NRA membership to help support the Second Amendment. I got to learn more about the Second Amendment from Dick Heller, who fought for gun rights in the famous Heller vs. DC case. I spent an entire night hanging out and speaking with him at the Annual Ronald Reagan Dinner where I was invited to eat, mingle and listen to judge Jeanine Pirro and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt speak.
Each day, for an hour I would volunteer at the Turning Point USA booth that we had set up. That was also a really cool experience, because working for TPUSA through the NSU chapter, I travel to college campuses to get students involved and educate them on topics such as free markets, free speech and limited government. But at CPAC, instead of doing the traveling myself, we had hundreds of activists come to us to learn more about us or to get free merchandise. I actually talked to a 7-year-old girl about what TPUSA does and she told me that when she goes to college that she wants to join TPUSA.
There were people there from all walks of life, all ages and all states. It was an amazing experience to be able to meet people who I probably would have never met without going to CPAC. Because of this conference, I truly do know myself to be a conservative, and it only reaffirmed my values and what I deem to be important.
Even if you don’t consider yourself on the “right,” I would really recommend attending CPAC next year, if only to listen to different view points to further understand both sides. Overall, this was an amazing experience — one which I hope to have again next year.
If you are interested in having similar experiences or want to come to one of our discussions or events, consider joining TPUSA. There is a conference this June in Dallas called the TPUSA Young Women’s Leadership Summit, where young women will be able to meet political commentator Ben Shapiro, Charlie Kirk, Tomi Lahren, Jeanine Pirro and many more — just like I did at CPAC. You can apply at tpusa.com/ywls.
