Oswego student Sydney Mayer's work to increase student voter turnout earned her a spot on the 2025 ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge’s Honor Roll, a national award that celebrates students working to institutionalize nonpartisan civic engagement and increase college student voting. This year, over 200 students were recognized across the country.

Participating campuses are able to nominate one student for the award. Allison Rank, department chair and professor of politics, nominated Mayer after observing her dedication in POL 386: "Vote Oswego."

“When Dr. Rank hit me with that email, I was not expecting that at all,” said Mayer.

Rank expressed her excitement that Mayer’s work in her class was being recognized, noting her exceptional leadership qualities.

“I am so excited to have Sydney's creativity, hard work and commitment to Vote Oswego's campaign recognized with this honor,” said Rank. “Within the first few weeks of the 2024 campaign, Sydney stepped into a leadership role as the event coordinator of Vote Oswego's station at the Banned Book Event hosted by Penfield Library and the Creative Writing Program, [and] remained a leader within the campaign team for the rest of the semester.”

Mayer said she is grateful for the mentorship Rank has provided her through this experience.

“I love Dr. Rank. That woman is so smart… and has such a wide range of skills, which also makes her so perfect for Vote Oswego. I really could not see anyone else running that class because it requires such a large amount of dedication,” said Mayer. “Especially in the political climate we’re in today, it can be very discouraging, and I think she represents a lot of courage.”

Real-world experience

POL 386: "Vote Oswego" is structured to include regular class periods and outside volunteer work, all to encourage voter participation among the student body. Mayer, who is entering her junior year at Oswego, said she was responsible for presenting to classes, tabling and more. She also led "Blitz Week," her project focused on encouraging last-minute voter registration leading up to the deadline.

“When you create your project, you want to look at an undermobilized group to target, so that’s students who really aren’t involved in the political process. While looking at Oswego’s numbers, I saw that STEM students were highly undermobilized,” said Mayer. “[So] two days of the week, I tabled in Shineman and Park. Another two I tabled in Rich for business students, and I also tabled in freshman buildings because that’s another undermobilized group.”

Mayer said she didn’t know what to expect from the class at first, but that the experience was invaluable. 

“It is by far my favorite class I’ve ever taken. It was truly an unforgettable experience [and] it really does give you an idea of what it’s like to work on a campaign,” said Mayer. “I feel like my problem-solving skills grew exponentially from that because I’ve never been put in an environment like that before, where I had to think on my feet and facilitate all these moving parts… It’s probably the best thing on my resume right now.”

Mayer said she ended up taking on a strong leadership role on her team. Among many rewarding aspects of the experience, she appreciated the opportunity to engage her fellow students in the political process.

“It was really cool from a campaign aspect, but it was also really cool to help my peers,” said Mayer. “My friends knew I was in Vote Oswego, so if they needed to register, they would ask me and I would tell them [where and when].”

Mayer encourages fellow students to get involved in the political process.

"People talk a lot about democracy these days, and I think a huge part of that arguably is being involved in some way politically,” Mayer explained. “It’s very easy to feel like you don’t have a voice, but if everyone uses theirs, it seems a lot bigger. I understand how it feels to feel powerless, but your vote and your voice are your power, and I think that is way too easily forgotten.”