Students involved in the Pope Fellows program and in advanced reporting recently visited the Texas State Capitol, where they had the opportunity to speak with ACU alumni working in public service. The students toured the Capitol, watched an oral argument in an appeals court, and built connections with alumni.

For students like Tamil Adele, a senior criminal justice major from Midland, and Langley Smith, a political science major from Murrieta, California, the trip offered a deeper understanding of public service and its many avenues.

Exploring Public Service in Austin

One of the highlights of the Pope Fellows experience is the Austin trip, designed to connect students with ACU alumni in public service roles. Students in advanced reporting had the opportunity to tag along and build connections with fellow journalists covering public service.

“The Austin trip for Pope Fellows specifically was about us meeting with other ACU alumni who are doing great work in the public service arena,” Adele explained. “It gives perspective on what civic leadership looks like and how ACU people are accomplishing that.”

Students met ACU alumni professionals such as Blair Schroeder, who represents ACU’s interests at the Capitol; Charles Gaines from an advocacy group; lobbyist Jay Howard; Rep. Stan Lambert; and Caroline Fairley, the youngest congresswoman from Amarillo.

For Adele, meeting Fairley was particularly inspiring.

“I personally want to do work like representative and senatorial work, so that was just very interesting to see that she’s 26 and already has a seat in the Texas House of Representatives,” she said. “Campaigning is really difficult, and just to see that she was able to do it within her community herself was really eye-opening.”

Lessons from the Texas Supreme Court

A key moment from the trip was observing an oral argument at the Texas Supreme Court.

For Adele, this experience was particularly valuable because she has an interest in Supreme Court work.

“The other oral argument I saw before was in front of a jury, and so this one is much different, and it was very interesting to see how the setup was different,” she said. “There’s no jury, of course. The justices were interrupting, and they had a finite amount of time but still had to get out everything they had to say before their time was up.”

Smith, despite not being interested in law as a career, found the experience engaging.

“I don’t really have an interest in being a lawyer, so following along was a mental task, but I really enjoyed it,” Smith said. “It also helped me to think a lot about potential lawmaking and the legislation writing process.”

Pope Fellow Orgins

The Jack Pope Fellows Program was named after Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jack Pope. The program helps foster future leaders in public service by providing scholarships and opportunities for students passionate about civic engagement.

“He had a heart for service and really encouraged students of ACU to do the same, and so this Pope Fellows program was created for him in honor of him,” Smith said.

The program is open to students of all majors who demonstrate a commitment to serving their communities. Selection for the program involves an application, essay submission and an interview process.

“The Jack Pope Fellows scholarship is like a community in a sense,” Adele said. “It’s just about getting a group of people who are civic-minded and are passionate about public service to get involved.”

Looking to the Future

Adele and Smith are eager to continue their journeys in public service. Adele is interested in pursuing work as a representative or senator, while Smith hopes to work in international affairs and conflict resolution.

For those considering the Pope Fellows program, Smith highly recommends it.

“I loved it. It was so fun,” she said. “I highly recommend other people doing it if they can and learning from people around you because it’s a place where you can truly see one another and have really fun conversations.”

Smith said this trip was a great learning experience and that the Pope Fellows program has given her many opportunities to meet and learn from other people.

“And in general, we learn from people who’ve gone before us so that we can stand on their shoulders and try to avoid some of the mistakes they made and learn from their successes,” Smith said.