Inez Johnson ‘25 is a sociology and politics double major from Dallas, Texas, and a member of the cross country and track teams. Her majors allow her to see how policy affects people, and people affect policy. Being a person who has always been politically minded, she is a member of Bates Votes, a team that encourages students to vote and use their democratic power. All her knowledge and passion led to Inez being selected for a fellowship sponsored by a national organization known as The Team. Formerly known as All Vote No Play, The Team selected Inez for its 2023-2024 Engaged Athlete Fellowship. 

The fellowship is composed of 28 student athletes across the United States, ranging from all levels of collegiate sport, and recognizes student athletes for their outstanding efforts “to strengthen nonpartisan civic participation on their teams, their campuses, and their broader communities. This selected cohort of Engaged Student Athlete Fellows works closely with esteemed mentors, established coaches, professional athletes, and The Team to harness the power of athletics to build great teammates, engaged citizens, and committed community members.” Inez applied for the fellowship because of how closely her interests intersect with the program’s mission. “Athletes make up 40% of our campus. If we used these teams as a vehicle for civic engagement, we could get so many more people involved. Teamwork and leadership don’t just have to be on the field; they very much apply off as well.” 

While the mission of athletes coming together to encourage stronger community engagement is embraced by all the selected students, each fellow is able to use their own judgment to determine what is most helpful in their own community. For Inez, who has a clear understanding of the Harward Center’s work and how it is ingrained at Bates, civic engagement takes a different shape than on many larger campuses: “I thought I was in over my head when applying because a lot of the athletes are D1, and their work focuses on outward engagement on social media. Here at Bates, I think it is more productive to do inward-focused work. There is already a strong ethos of civic engagement built into the school, so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. For example, there are already Community Liaisons on many teams. My goal is to make the existing programs more cohesive across all the sports, and to make them more generative and lasting.” Community Liaisons already work closely with the Harward Center, but these student leadership positions are not technically required within Athletics so there are various degrees of engagement on teams. Inez’s goal is to help ensure all teams are genuinely involved, and that they are doing projects their team has natural connections to. For example, “The cross country team runs on the River Walk almost everyday. Doing a monthly trail clean up would be really easy, and there is a clear relationship to our team.” Another idea she has is for the Rowing Team to partner with the Androscoggin Land Trust on Androscoggin River clean-ups, where they row every day. It is simple projects that can be seamlessly integrated into each team’s culture that Inez is going for. 

When not doing this fellowship, studying, working in Admissions, or running, Inez is encouraging young people to use their voting rights. She knows there is a stigma about young people not voting, but really “young people decide the midterms. We need to harness people’s votes because we could really make a change. I know this is a rose-colored look at things, but it is definitely possible to make a difference if we actually go out and do it together.” It is this team mindset that encapsulates Inez, whether on the track, in the classroom, in clubs, or while doing civic engagement work. 

All this together led to another national recognition for Inez. On November 14th, she will be inducted into the ALL IN (Campus Democracy Challenge) 2023 Student Voting Honor Roll. The Honor Roll recognizes college students who are advancing nonpartisan student voter registration, education, and turnout efforts, as well as ensuring equitable access to the polls. 

While researching this story, it was incredibly clear to me how passionate Inez is about civic engagement, community, athletics, and the intersection of the three. The core focus of her work is to help students feel connected to the wider community and to help make positive change. In turn, being more involved will naturally position young people to feel like their vote is more valuable. Her grounding idea will surely ring throughout the sports teams and Bates as a whole as she continues her fellowship this year. If you want to connect with Inez and get involved, or simply congratulate her, you can reach out at ijohnson@bates.edu. For more information about either of her accolades, you can check out her fellowship here, or the voting honor roll here.