Life’s Important Connections
October 25, 2021
Picture Perfect
October 26, 2021
Model Citizen
Mariah Mauke ’21 paved her legacy through AIC’s famed Model Congress. Now, she’s helping the next generation of Yellow Jackets successfully navigate the college experience.
BY SAMANTHA BAILEY :: PHOTOS BY LEON NGUYEN '16
ONE WOULD BE HARD-PRESSED TO FIND a more stellar ambassador for AIC’s extracurricular offerings than Springfield native and recent graduate Mariah Mauke.
During her time at AIC, she was: a contributing staff writer and photographer for the student newspaper, The Yellow Jacket, for three years; treasurer of the Student Government Association; student body president during her senior year; and a constant on the Dean’s List.
She received a co-curricular award for achievement in political science as well as the Harry S. Levitan (’43) Award, established in 2002 by the late namesake’s brother, Dr. Joseph J. Levitan, to recognize an AIC student who “displays Harry Levitan’s admirable personal qualities of courage, integrity, honor, respect, loyalty, duty, and service to AIC.” Though she hadn’t expected to receive either, Mauke says the awards “made me feel like I had made an impact, and I was very appreciative of that.”
Her crowning achievement, however, was—and still is—her involvement in the College’s Model Congress, which began in high school.
“My sister, Kathryn, who was in Model Congress herself, was two years older than me and begged me to join,” she says. “At the time, I wasn’t into politics, but my sister inspired my love for it.” This enduring love, she explains, is rooted in effecting change.
“I was given a platform to debate things that were important to me and to the world,” she says. “I’m a naturally opinionated person and love to get others to see the world the way I do. I did have to get used to having a voice. I had to get used to people hearing what I had to say.”
AT AIC, she quickly climbed MoCo’s leadership ranks to become chairperson, in which role, she says, “It was on me to create that same experience for incoming students.”
“Model Congress allows young people to express views that older generations didn’t consider,” she adds. “As a teenager, you can involve yourself in issues like international relations, families, improving infrastructure. It affected me tremendously to see how the world works.”
Founded in 1940, AIC’s is the longest continuously running simulated congress in the US. Notable past speakers include former Secretary of State John Kerry and Presidents Gerald Ford and Joseph Biden. The onset of the pandemic in 2020, however, threatened this celebrated perennial tradition. “I had to figure out what to do,” says Mauke, who oversaw the first virtual iteration of MoCo. The Zoom-based proceedings featured an emergency-style debate session, in which the topic of legislation was revealed only minutes beforehand in order to simulate a real-life special session of Congress.
Mauke’s passion for civic engagement, however, extends beyond the simulated realm. Representing AIC’s Student Government Association, she spoke to the importance of making one’s voice heard at a voter education press event—held on campus on October 21, 2020—alongside Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Foundation; Hampden County District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni; Denise Jordan, MS ’00, Hon ’19, director of the Springfield Housing Authority; Jose Delgado, director of government affairs for MGM Springfield; and AIC trustee Michael D. Weekes ’75.
“With everything facing us as a country right now, it’s more crucial than ever that young people are standing up for what they believe in, speaking out, and ensuring their say,” Mauke told attendees and members of the media. “This is our future at stake.”
Outside her sundry involvements with the College, Mauke is the president of Celebrate Kate, a memorial scholarship honoring her sister, Kathryn, whose tragic death came shortly after she was awarded a full scholarship to AIC as top delegate at the seventy-fifth Model Congress, in 2015. Two years later, Mauke accepted the scholarship on her sister’s behalf. “AIC holds a special place with me for that,” she says.
Your AIC experience is what you make of it, plain and simple.
Celebrate Kate grants annual scholarships of $1,111.11—an homage to her family’s lucky number—to high school seniors who respond to an essay prompt related to Kate’s legacy and community issues.
“Kate was known for MoCo,” Mauke adds, expounding,
She was one of the best delegates I ever saw and the youngest person to receive an honorable mention in the conference. She went on to win the 2015 conference, and everyone at AIC knew who she was—professors, faculty, judges. They all knew her reputation and they knew me as her little sister.
My involvement in MoCo is something I wanted to carry on in memory of her, but, instead, I created my own legacy inspired by her. She gave me everything in the world of politics, and I was fortunate enough to use the scholarship she couldn’t. We both created a legacy; I wanted to continue hers and create my own.”
Mauke manages funds, organizes events, and oversees the awarding of scholarships on behalf of Celebrate Kate, which has donated more than $25,000 to the YWCA of Western Massachusetts and other area shelters over the last seven years.
