It is no coincidence that the first events of our campaign were held on college campuses. This past week, Riley was welcomed by scores of excited students at both the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. He shared his story, why he’s running, and answered dozens of questions ranging from housing affordability and foreign policy to helping the Great Salt Lake and his personal military and public service.

Riley wanted to engage young people as soon as possible because he understands that we depend on rising generations getting informed and involved in our political process. He shared stories of challenging, but constructive experiences standing for his beliefs as an undergraduate at Princeton and in graduate school as an Eisenhower Scholar at Oxford.

Riley views the dynamism of college campuses as something to be celebrated, not controlled. In his words, “Our college campuses should be the places in society where we engage with every idea, especially those that make us uncomfortable, and challenge them, dissect them, face facts, and seek truth both as individuals and as a society…but nothing compares with learning that comes in the real world.”

Dozens of students volunteered to support our campaign at these events. You can join the team, too, by signing up to volunteer here!