Campus Character — Jeffrey Garofano

During Winter term, the only politics Middlebury students deal with might be at which dining hall to eat and with whom to catch a ride to the Snow Bowl. Indeed, the organic meals and snow-covered quads can seem awfully far away from the partisan political scene of Washington, D.C.

But Jeffrey Garofano ’10.5 is not blinded by the political “bubble” that Middlebury students live in. As co-president of College Democrats and an active member of a political discussion group among friends that was founded by George Altshuler ’10.5, Garofano keeps in touch with national politics. His experience goes well beyond classroom discussions and lofty ideals.

“Really, I can’t see myself not involved in politics,” he said.

And involved he is: work on political campaigns has brought Garofano across the country, from Denver to New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and of course Washington, D.C.
But despite an impressive resume filled with political activism and a political science major, Garofano has an air of modesty about him. As he introduced himself, Garofano said, “I never really thought of myself as particularly interesting.” And when asked about how many campaigns he has worked on, Garofano responded, “Just Senator John Kerry’s 2004 Presidential run, the 2006 mid-terms, Pres. Obama’s primary and general campaigns and the 2010 midterms.”

In other words, Garofano has worked for major candidates during every national campaign year since his junior year of high school.

His modesty, combined with intellectual confidence, may also help explain why Garofano envisions himself working more behind the scenes in politics, whether in the political press, consulting, advising, staffing or in a think tank.

“I don’t see myself as an actual politician,” Garofano said. “That’s not something I think of naturally.”

Garofano’s enthusiasm for politics began when former president Bill Clinton spoke in Garofano’s hometown in Syracuse, New York in 1998. Although he did not actually meet Clinton, Garofano heard him speak and met some secret service members, which sparked his interest in the political arena.

“Also, seeing Michael Moore movies, though I don’t wholly agree with them, got me interested in the emotions of politics,” he said. For instance, “Bowling for Columbine is less about gun control and more about the American psyche.”

By the time his junior year of high school rolled around, Garofano already had a keen eye for politics.

“I was working a shift at the grocery store and I saw a magazine with then Senator Barack Obama on the cover, so I bought it and read the article during my break. I tore out the front page and always thought he would become the next president.”

Garofano’s loyalty to Obama continued throughout college, as he worked on Obama’s presidential campaign during both the primary and general elections. Garofano and a group of fellow College Democrats crossed over to New Hampshire to campaign early on during the Democratic primary, where they also got to see each candidate speak.

“We saw Bill Richardson, Hillary Clinton and Howard Dean all speak,” he said. “Then, when Obama came on, everyone left their tables and put down their shrimp to watch him. He gave a very impassioned speech, and when he finished he got off the stage and walked around the front. I got to shake his hand, and Obama said, ‘We’re going to need you.’”

Though always liberal-minded, Garofano said that college has changed him politically.

“In high school I was very, very liberal,” he said. “I would say college has textured my political opinions a bit. Now I have a far better understanding of how things actually work.”

He attributes this shift to his minor that he “accidentally stumbled upon”: economics.

“Being an economics minor taught me a new framework of thinking and gave me a better sense of political economics.”

Additionally, a friend Garofano met through a Denver internship challenged his political views. At the internship, Garofano worked at a Welfare to Work nonprofit organization.

“I came out changed, and now I’m more of a market-conscious Democrat,” he said.

Garofano’s Denver experience also piqued his interest in education policy when he heard former Denver Superintendent Michael Bennet speak about public school reform. He was so inspired that he worked on Bennet’s senate campaign as a volunteer intern a year later.

“I’m always reading about the failing education system, and although I wasn’t personally failed by it, if I had been born in a different zip code I may have been,” he said.  “And I don’t think one’s race and zip code should determine so much about your education.”

Combining his passion for both economics and politics, Garofano said, “Markets inevitably produce inequality, and education is a way to grease the wheels of social mobility.”

Although he is not yet sure what he is going to do upon graduating in February, Garofano says ideally that he will end up in New York or Washington, D.C.

“For now, I’m just coming to terms with leaving this place in a month,” he said. “I’ll especially miss the community of living with people, hanging out every night of the week with my friends. It’s much harder to do when you’re working a job.”

“And being able to sit down with professors and students over lasagna or food and wine is pretty rare,” he said. “How lucky I’ve been to have that connection.”