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A year after graduating from 91����'s  with a degree in , Dylan Morse found himself a candidate for Vermont House of Representatives.

He had been working in local elections and writing on his , which attracted some attention with readers who encouraged him to get involved in local politics. 

“I wrote for fun to keep up with the habits I built at the Schar School, researching and writing,” he said. “It started to grow and I had some people reach out to me and that lit a spark in me. [Getting into politics] has always been a goal of mine, but I didn't imagine that I would do it so soon.”

Morse filed for his candidacy in May and won the August 11 primary for his seat representing the Windsor-1 district, which includes his hometown of Hartland, as well as the towns of Windsor and West Windsor. (The general election is November 3.) He spent his summer knocking on doors and attending all kinds of community events meeting and engaging with voters. Exhausting work to be sure.

“It’s one of the hardest things I've ever done because it takes a lot of work to do it right,” he said. “It's a really big time commitment and I've had to make some sacrifices elsewhere in my life. There's always the constant stress in the back of your mind, Am I doing enough?”

When he meets with constituents, Morse sometimes faces skepticism given his young age. He knows that experience is a valuable part of governing and he stresses his internship experience at the Schar School, which included working for both Vermont’s Governor Phil Scott and Senator Peter Welch.

“One of the main jobs from both of those internships was talking with constituents and trying to help them, and that’s been the entire campaign this summer,” he said. “My job is to talk to voters and learn what’s working for them, what isn't working for them.”

More often than not, Morse has been welcomed on the campaign trail. 

“It's seen as a great positive that a young person is getting involved,” he said. “People are excited when I come to their door and can offer a different perspective. It's one way I’ve differentiated myself from other candidates.”

Morse’s platform focuses on securing a Vermont where everyday people can live their lives comfortably, which is getting harder to do because of costs and lack of affordable housing.

“I’m a ninth-generation Vermonter,” he said. “My family is a 9-to-5 working family. I see and hear that that life is getting harder to do. I want to do all I can to make that not be the case.”

He credits his family for instilling his passion for public service and a desire to give back, a commitment he continued to develop through his studies and internships at the Schar School. The son of a career firefighter, Morse remembers his father teaching fire safety or picking up people in an ambulance. 

“I saw the meaning behind being an active part of the town and the community,” he said. “I want to chip into that. I don't want to do a job just to earn a paycheck. I want to do something that means something.”