Taylor Fischer ’16 advocated for a Smoke-Free Texas in Austin.
This summer I worked for the American Heart Association as an advocacy intern in Austin, Texas. At the American Heart Association, we are essentially in the business of putting ourselves out of business. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America and the AHA works to eliminate heart disease as well as provide Americans with the knowledge and tools to live longer, healthier lives. As an advocacy intern, I worked mainly on Smoke-Free Texas, an ordinance that would ban smoking in restaurants and bars. This mandate would drastically improve the lives and health of Texans and ultimately decrease the amount of heart disease within the state. I think one of the most memorable parts of my summer was when I was able to meet some of the volunteers who had been working with us to make Waco Smoke-Free. It was amazing to hear their stories as to why they were fighting for this ordinance with us and how thankful they were for all of the work that we do at the AHA. It made me feel incredible knowing that even though I am just a small part of this organization, my work is meaningful in helping improve the lives of others. As a lobbyist for an organization like the American Heart Association it is your job to create positive change within the government, which ultimately creates positive change within the lives of American citizens. Hearing firsthand how much the work of the American Heart Association advocacy team has helped to improve the lives of so many families instantly showed me that this is something I want to do. I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing group of people and I hope to continue the work of the American Heart Association!