Neuroscience Program Director Richard Wells, left, and graduate student Richard Hill. Courtesy photo.

Graduate student Richard Hill drops his usually steady eyes and shyly begins to wring his hands as he thinks over the previous question.  He chuckles lightly, fidgets and throws out his arms in a gesture of surrender.

“I had no idea when I heard Barack Obama speak in 2004 that four years later I‘d be involved in all this,” he said.
A graduate student of neuroscience, this week Hill will serve as one of 13 representatives for Latah County at the Democratic National Convention.

Hill, who was born in Chicago, has followed the career of Obama adamantly for years and was excited when he first heard the senator was running for president. Although he said he usually doesn’t hold himself with one particular party, he traditionally votes as a Democrat and feels particular fervor about Obama.
“I look at him and I’m thinking ‘This is the one,’” he said. “I just started talking to different people about him, getting people registered to vote … Mostly I love discussion groups, there’s something about getting people together and getting them talking that’s right up my alley.”

Hill said he thought his volunteer work would be the extent of his involvement outside of voting in November. He attended the local caucus unsure of how many people would be in attendance. Although he said he knew Latah to be Idaho’s most liberal county, he thought there would be a larger divide between Clinton and Obama supporters.

“I came in and started wading through all these people trying to get to the Obama side,” he said. “ It wasn’t until I got to the sign that I realized what I’d been walking through had been in support of Sen. Obama.”

At the caucus, a friend of Hill’s nominated him to be a representative. Two of his professors were present and they encouraged him to accept.
“Sometimes people see things in you that you just don’t see in yourself, ” he said.

Sue Ritter, a professor at Washington State University, was one of Hill’s teachers who supported him as a candidate. She said she has taught at WSU since 1975 and has known a lot of students, but Hill stood out to her as exemplary.

"He is a thoughtful person who thinks broadly about his own life and the lives of others,” she said. “I think his perspective is unusual and that would make him a great representative.”

Along with technology and education, Hill cares deeply about the subject of healthcare — an issue that has a personal meaning.
He said his sister has been fighting with multiple sclerosis and was first diagnosed after finishing law school. She had no health insurance.

“Some doctors were great, but some were difficult,“ Hill said. “One receptionist didn’t want to make her an appointment because she was uninsured. The doctor told her to make the appointment anyway.”

Although he has his own important issues, Hill said that after talking to some of the people he will be representing, the multiple points of views he’s been exposed to have resonated with him.

“Everyone has a unique experience and when they are willing to share them with me, it gives me a feeling of responsibility,” Hill said.
Ritter said it was Hill’s ability to empathize with the situation of others that led her to believe he would best represent the people and she encourages anyone who can to become involved in the political process.

“Everyone has a certain level of influence whether they know it or not,” she said. “It’s better to know you have it and use it as best you can.”

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