{"id":18925,"date":"2015-05-14T12:24:27","date_gmt":"2015-05-14T16:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=18925"},"modified":"2015-08-03T15:54:48","modified_gmt":"2015-08-03T19:54:48","slug":"every-vote-counts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2015\/05\/14\/every-vote-counts\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Vote Counts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Voting is a way of life for most people. Regaining the right to vote poses no easy task for convicted felons who have served time in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Benjamin Hermerding aims to turn that around.<\/p>\n<p>A political science major at the University of Mary Washington, Hermerding interns with the Commonwealth\u2019s Restoration of Rights Department\u00a0 that restores voting rights to convicted felons who have served their prison time. Within the past few years, the Richmond Secretary of the Commonwealth\u2019s Office division has granted them more rights than in any other time in Virginia\u2019s history, according to Hermerding.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/umwwebmaster.wpengine.com\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Ben2_Inside.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"18930\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/ben2_inside\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Ben2_Inside.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1973,1411\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;www.newmarkphoto.com&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Ben2_Inside\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Ben2_Inside-300x215.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Ben2_Inside-1024x732.jpg\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18930\" src=\"http:\/\/umwwebmaster.wpengine.com\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Ben2_Inside-300x215.jpg\" alt=\"Ben2_Inside\" width=\"300\" height=\"215\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Ben2_Inside-300x215.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Ben2_Inside-768x549.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Ben2_Inside-1024x732.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Ben2_Inside-1140x815.jpg 1140w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Ben2_Inside.jpg 1973w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>In a given day, he looks at approximately 150 applications requesting off probation or parole, the first step in the process. The overwhelming amount of work serves only to make him more determined.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the most rewarding thing, and what drives me, is that voting is such an important part of our democracy,\u201d said Hermerding, who has been interested in political science since he was a child.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is giving that right back to people who have done wrong and have done that time. Knowing I can give that back is rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hermerding heard about the internship from his professor and supervisor at the Center for Leadership and Media Studies, Stephen Farnsworth\u00a0.<\/p>\n<p>Farnsworth and Hermerding have collaborated on several projects, included a survey they created in the fall of 2014 that was featured in The Washington Post and the Daily Kos.<\/p>\n<p>Hermerding\u2019s drive still surprises Farnsworth, even after working with him the past three years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBen has really taken advantage of his opportunities,\u201d said Farnsworth, who has taught at UMW for 15 years. \u201cHe has been very thoughtful about what he wants to do. He\u2019s also very energetic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Farnsworth added, \u201cThere isn\u2019t much he hasn\u2019t done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hermerding is making the most of his last semester at UMW. In the span of one week, Hermerding organized the Virginia Young Democrats conference for college students across the state and hosted UMW\u2019s fifth annual Arab Culture Night.<\/p>\n<p>Hermerding\u2019s ability to connect with people and bring them together has served him well across the country and across the globe. He spent six months in Jordan, Israel, in the spring and summer of 2014. The first three months were part of UMW\u2019s Study Abroad program. The remaining 3 months he spent volunteering with Family Kitchen, an organization that provides food to residents who live on the outskirts of cities, residents that other organizations overlook.<\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s at UMW, Richmond, his hometown in Minnesota, or on another continent, Hermerding plans to make an impact, not only for himself, but for those around him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the day, when I lay my head on the pillow I want to know I have made a difference. I did something that made a change in a community,\u201d said Hermerding. \u201cI\u2019m not living an unfulfilled life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Benjamin Hermerding\u201915 makes a difference at UMW and beyond<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":18926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,81],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18925","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"category-umw-home","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - 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