Lauren Vaillancourt and Anika Wadehra

Description

[Recorded Monday, February 26, 2024]
UVA students Lauren Vaillancourt (19) from Yorktown, VA, and Anika Wadehra (19) from Loudoun County, VA, recorded a One Small Step conversation as part of their course "Democracy and Public Service." Both students grew up in Virginia, though Lauren grew up in a more conservative area and Anika in a slightly more liberal area. A major theme they explored was religion as Lauren is Catholic, and Anika grew up Hindu and now identifies as an agnostic. An area both Lauren and Anika agree on is feeling under-formed in their political opinion because they both agree with both sides on certain issues and have a hard time picking "sides." They also discussed this in the face of an increasingly polarized political field and what it's like to grow up in this intersection. Lauren and Anika also discussed how their backgrounds influenced their political ideals and how this influence changed after getting to college.

Participants

• Lauren Vaillancourt
  
• Anika Wadehra
  
• One Small Step at UVA
  

Interview By

• One Small Step at UVA