Latina, violinist and democrat. At 20 years old, Carolyn Salvador Ávila is widely followed in North American politics. She currently serves as National President of College Activists for the Democratic Party in the United States, where she was active in Kamala Harris’ campaign.
From women’s reproductive rights to the fight against armed violence. These are some of the beliefs that led him to become involved in American politics. Carolyn Salvador Avila daughter of a Chilean mother who emigrated to USA and student at the University of Nevada, where in December of last year he witnessed a shooting in which three people died. For this reason, while preparing to become a lawyer, Carolyn chose to take online courses and devote more time to his other vocation: politics .
After the shooting which marked his entire university community, he affirms that He felt the need to participate and get involved in the Young Democrats group at his university. where she rose to leadership and was later proposed as national president. It was there that he lived his first campaign, collect votes from university students across the country which led her to be elected national president of the entity.
During a dazzling career, where he visited Washington DC several times and was also close to the most important figures in the presidential party. Joe Biden and North American politics, he now works side by side for the campaign of Kamala Harris representing young Democrats “to give a voice to their generation,” he says from his home in Las Vegas, United States, with an obvious Chilean accent.
The interviews he has given in the American media are recorded on his social networks, as Univision either cnn and the photos that were taken with people as important as the current president Joe Biden the candidate Kamala Harris the former president Barack Obama or the former candidate Bernie Sanders . Of all of them, the one who had the biggest impact on him, he says, was former President Obama. “When I met him I was still very new to politics, I was very nervous and I told him I wanted to be like him one day. “He told me not to be like him, to be like me, because that would be even better.”
— How did you get into politics in the United States?
—Actually, it has a lot to do with Chile. When I was 12, my mother was elected president of the Nevada State Chilean Association. (…) When we began to grow within the association, we realized that the best way to ensure that the Chilean community was represented in government was to connect with those who represent us. I like it because I’m young, female and Latina. This voice is something these representatives need to hear.
Carolyn says that ever since she was little, she realized the importance of political participation to be able to help the migrant community in the United States even more. “We need more representation of these communities, (…) I would appear in front of the press or I would do it. I had to give a speech. I started talking about the things that mattered to me, as a woman, young and Latina,” she explains.
In almost a year of management, he said, they have already created the Nevada State Federation of Young Democrats. All of this happened ahead of the 2024 presidential election, where Kamala Harris’ name has become central to Democrats’ hopes of continuing to lead the country.
For her, music was another fundamental pillar that encouraged her to get more involved in politics and allowed her to make connections. “I’m actually a violinist, which also helped me get into politics, because they knew me as ‘a violinist with an opinion.’ (…) I have very good relations with the representatives of Nevada, thanks to my political commitment, but also through the Chilean Association, thanks to the violin. When they need to communicate with the young community, they call me.
—What are the interests of young people in American politics?
— There is a lack of connection between youth and politics. Honestly, politics here has become polarized, there’s a lot of division, and it wasn’t like that before. It’s super frustrating for our generation that there are no agreements, we don’t see progress on the issue of climate change, for example.
His dream for America is to improve the causes he considers fundamental. “I would like to see fewer school shootings and women’s rights codified in legislation. I would like to see a better economy and more attention to climate change. (…) On the political side, I would like to see more unity. “I think we wouldn’t be where we are today if Donald Trump hadn’t had the opportunity to run for president,” he says.
—What message would you like to leave to a Chilean or a young woman like you?
— That they get involved, that they learn, that they are always curious to know more and that they inform themselves about what is happening in the country. I am the first female president, Latina, the first from Nevada, elected to the national presidency of the College Democrats. Being the first woman to hold this position, I was touched by many things that probably would not have been touched by a man. (…) This door is already open, all that remains is to open the door to other women.
*This note is part of the collaborative alliance LT-UDD belonging to the project Campus . Myriam Ruiz is an academic at the Faculty of Communication and Sofía Runín, a fourth-year journalism student..
Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
