Yanchick with a sign that says “I am a civic engagement fiend! My passion.”
Emily King (OU)
November 13, 2021
Rep. Kamryn Yanchick is a three-star member of the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature’s House of Representative from the OU Delegation. She’s been involved with O.I.L. since her freshman year of college, in fall 2019. Currently, she serves as the Director of Diversity in Governor Barnett’s 2021-22 Cabinet.
The Director of Diversity is a fairly new position, established only last year. As the second Director of Diversity, Yanchick believes that, because there’s not many set duties at the moment, it’s full of potential. She hopes to create a committee for next session to go over the bill packet and flag anything that could be potentially triggering towards some members.
Additionally, Kamryn serves as the OU Delegation’s Director of Philanthropy for the second year in a row. She enjoys organizing community service projects for the OU members and organizing all the information pertaining to service hours. Yanchick coordinated a group of students to volunteer at the University of Oklahoma’s ‘Little Event’ back in October. One such student, Amanda McCumber said, “I had a great time, and I’m thankful to Kamryn for organizing it. It was a good bonding opportunity for our organization.”
Earlier today, Yanchick’s bill, OU-507, the “Sovereignty Through Education Act,” passed through the Senate, after passing through the House yesterday. The Act gives in-state residency status to individuals who have connections to one of the 39 tribal nations in the state of Oklahoma, to encourage native students to pursue deeper connections to their heritage and improve the state as a whole.
In addition to her roles in O.I.L., Kamryn has served as a former Civic Engagement Fellow with Oklahoma Votes, an organization which seeks to better voter participation on the OU campus. Currently, she serves as a voter registrar with Rock the Native Vote and as a Student Advisory Board member for Campus Vote Project, a national organization that advances civic engagement on college campuses across the nation. Very passionate about citizen participation, Kamryn describes herself as a “civic engagement fiend.” I asked Yanchick about the title, and she stated:
“Civic Engagement is pretty broad. It’s just getting involved in government and public service. That can be through voting, staying up to date on what’s going on, contacting representatives, etc. I think O.I.L. helps with civic engagement because it not only helps us stay aware of what’s going on, but allows us to come up with solutions to the problems. I think that’s very inspiring. There’s also an extensive list of distinguished alumni that proves how people involved in O.I.L. tend to go on to do great things and make big changes in our state.”
Yanchick concluded with an inspirational piece of advice for zero stars and new members of O.I.L. She said:
“O.I.L. can be very intimidating because it’s foreign to people who have not had exposure to organizations like this in the past. Don’t be scared, don’t doubt yourself. Everyone is here because they care, and that passion is something that I believe people shouldn’t be afraid to voice. Your opinion is just as valid, even if you’re sure how to best articulate it.”