Belinda Scott, Ashley Scott’s mother, always stressed community service and civic engagement.

“Whether it be in church, in our city, or in our state, we have always been involved in politics, attending rallies and supporting candidates. My dad, Murphy Nash Jr., is on the Board of Supervisors at Southern University. In a sense, Ashley has been surrounded by politics in some form,” said her mother.

As an undergraduate at Southern University, Scott worked in voter registration for former Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s campaign as well as two state Senate campaigns. This summer, Scott wrapped up her third session’s work in the Louisiana Legislature where she assisted Cindy Bishop, a lobbyist who advocates on behalf of health-centered nonprofits.

Scott’s most recent work has been on the grassroots level, arming Louisiana residents with information and registering them to vote.

“After Barack Obama announced his candidacy, I decided to get involved. His campaign stresses working from the ground up. I felt that it was my responsibility to do what I could to help,” Scott said.

Scott is most impressed with Obama’s plans to restructure the health care system and higher education. Both, Scott admitted, in many cases fall out of reach for people her age.

“Giving students [financial] incentives for going to college through community service is important,” said Scott, noting that assisting students in eliminating student loan debt and extending health care benefits to students are among Obama’s top priorities.

Delegates to the Democratic National Convention pay their own way, and for a college student the price tag can be high, but Scott doesn’t mind.

“I just want to be involved,” Scott said. “Obama represents a new face in politics. He represents change.”