Miguel Johnson is a JLYL alumni who is shifting career fields as he discovers more about the intersection between political science and community organizing. Originally from Poughkeepsie, New York, Miguel is a recent graduate of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership where he majored in political science and minored in creative writing. After interning for the Financial Times where he worked at the Energy desk, he endeavored to put his political science major to use by connecting people with energy programs such as ones financing weatherization inspections and updates for low income homes. He recently got a job with the Mid-Hudson Energy Transition where he hopes to continue his work making grassroots change in the energy sector.

Allison: Can you tell me about your experience as a John Lewis Young Leaders fellow from 2021-2022?

Miguel: I joined through the LGBTQIA center at my school and I served with RFK Human Rights while I was a junior. At the time, I was the vice president of the Center and I worked with the president. It was a good experience overall, especially getting to go to LA to meet everyone from the different chapters.

Allison: How do you think that experience as a John Lewis Young Leaders fellow has helped you?

Miguel: What I got out of the experience was just being able to meet people. I met Kristopher through this program and Eli Dreyfus and so many other people that I have stayed in touch with after the program. They have been giving me great advice! 

Allison: Amazing I love that. Can you tell me more about why you pursued your major in political science? 

Miguel: My perspective on the majors and the university has changed a lot. I thought that by going into political science, you would learn how to make the world a better place. I came in with a naive standpoint. Medical students and engineers have labs and practicals where they can work on fake cadavers and put theory into practice. In social sciences, we don’t do that. Instead we read academics and historians and reports, only deferring to the experts. We don’t really go outside and talk to real people. Because of this, I don’t know anything about shifting power in the real world and I would like to learn more about making grassroots change. I love the foundation I received and my professors were fabulous. It is an amazing and well funded school, but I want to learn more about grassroots change and what institutions do in the real world. Did that answer your question?

Allison: That’s a really great answer! I think that’s what’s failing us in higher education—I don’t think people go into college with the understanding of what their major actually is and what it’s going to do. Why are you making this shift from your previous experience and current degree into your new industry?

Miguel: A lot has changed. Last summer, I interned at the Financial Times. I was at the Corporate Equity and Mergers desk and did a lot of work at the Energy desk. This was around the time when Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act was going on. So I’m looking at what the experts are saying, and they’re showing me how much money is being thrown into the energy industry and how there’s a big emphasis on getting low income communities into it. I felt like my political science background would be useful for this particular purpose. So much money is being poured into [these programs], and I feel like we aren’t doing a good enough job of ensuring that the people we want to know about this stuff really learn about it. So the Financial Times internship got me really excited. 

Right now I just got a drone license so I’m certified to fly drones, and I just took a weatherization and building performance efficiency lab. Right now, I’m interviewing to be a part of the Mid-Hudson Energy Transition. In the future, if I were to go back to graduate school, it’d be for something like supply chain management or carbon accounting. I want to go to Europe, maybe Copenhagen or something, because I think they do a better job of teaching what it takes to be carbon neutral. In America, we want to be carbon neutral but also want to protect big business and you can’t reconcile that, and I understand that from a political standpoint, but at least when you’re teaching me tell me what we need to do.

Allison: That’s a great game plan, and I definitely recommend going to Europe and learning more about those things. Can you tell me a little bit more about how you hope to bring your love for organizing and pushing the needle forward into the energy sector?

Miguel: I am still very new and learning all these things, but this role I’m interviewing for is for writing grants for low income homes that need to go through the weatherization process. We will find money to first review and inspect the house. Then some of the money will go to updating the house. This is a concrete way to use my political science skills with the energy sector. I even saw an example in class of a weatherization inspection that cost $10,000 and who has money for that? We all need to be carbon neutral and that’s so expensive. I think that this is a great first step to introduce myself to the activism/energy sector. 

Allison: Wow that’s incredible, I really hope you get the job! Outside of all of this, do you still hope to engage in community organizing work in other capacities?

Miguel: Hopefully, I am still doing research on what’s most effective for me. I would hate to be at another nonprofit that is low impact and we’re not really working for the community, so I’m doing what is working for me right now. 

Allison: That’s a great response because that’s so real. It’s like, “I’m doing what’s best for me right now and if I feel like this space isn’t the best place, I’m just going to keep figuring it out until I have to get there.” What advice would you give to somebody who came into school with one major and is thinking of making a career shift?

Miguel: My first piece of advice would be – just do it. For me, this was incredibly difficult – coming from social sciences to physical science. I always told myself, “I’m English and history smart, not math and technology smart,” so taking this drone test and passing is crazy to me. Making all these transitions is great and I never thought I’d be able to do it. 

I encourage students and administrators to push more that students need to start thinking about the intersections between political science and economy and English and psychology. There should be no more learning silos – we can’t afford that. It doesn’t work and it makes it harder to transition because once you leave college, you’re not just a political scientist. You’re applying to other jobs where you need to know those intersections. At City College specifically, there are so many resources on campus. Talk to people, do certificate courses, ask for help, consider intersections, and ideally don’t just do one major. It’s all about the intersections in my opinion.

Allison: What are some areas of support that you could use right now? 

Miguel: I am stuck between wanting industry experience now or should I just move to Europe and do graduate school. I am more open to industry experience now and getting more project management experience and research experience in the energy field. Carbon accounting and supply chain management is what I’m interested in but I specifically want project management roles in the energy sector. I would really benefit more from learning from people about what that looks like and what I could do to be qualified for those roles at this point.

Miguel received the position at Mid-Hudson Energy Transition and began on September 18th.