Give Jon Cardinal ’08 a few more years, and he’ll be one of the big names on Capitol Hill.  For now, he’s happy with St. Lawrence’s Washington Semester, which he did throughout spring 2007. 

“I took part in the Transforming Communities program, interned with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and conducted independent research on a federal rural development policy for the 21st century,” Jon says.  “In Transforming Communities, I studied issues ranging from welfare reform to homelessness to education policy.  I decided to do my research on federal rural development policy so that I can one day give back to the North Country through service in the federal government.”

Because Jon was born and raised Ogdensburg, N.Y., the Ogdensburg Free academy graduate has a natural interest in the North Country region.  He was named a 2007 University Fellow to conduct a research project titled, “The Forgotten America: Rural Poverty in Northern New York.”

“We frequently hear about the impoverished conditions that many North Country residents face,” Jon says.  “This research seeks to quantify the poverty problem in the North Country by compiling both a statistical review of the issue and anecdotal evidence from government agencies, churches and non-profits that aid the poor, as well as possibly from some people living in poverty.” 

Besides publishing some of his research, Jon plans on developing it into a speaking series in the North Country.  “I hope to enlighten North Country residents on issues surrounding the poverty in the area and inspire them to work together in addressing the problems and filling in where government services seem to have failed,” he says.

Jon, a government major, was recently named a Truman Scholar.  He and classmate Charlotta Chung ’08 are the first-ever recipients from St. Lawrence, and two of 65 students nationwide given this distinction and honor.  “As a scholar, you are charged to carry on the legacy of Harry S Truman--no small task, but an inspiring one,” Jon says.