James Causey, Jr. CLEVELAND, Miss. — James Causey, Jr., a Delta State University Social Sciences Education major from Hollandale, recently returned from spending the Spring 2023 semester as a congressional fellow in Senator Roger Wicker’s office in Washington, D.C. Delta State, in collaboration with Delta Council and Staplcotn, annually sponsors the Delta State Congressional Fellows Program, which offers an experiential educational opportunity for one outstanding DSU student each year.
Causey applied for the program at the urging of Assistant Professor of Geography and Sustainable Development Joe Lane.
“I had to write a cover letter, provide three letters of recommendation, and have a GPA over 3.0,” Causey said. “They told me two days after Thanksgiving that I was going.”
Causey moved to D.C. in January and spent his days answering and logging constituent phone calls. “I would take their opinions and give them to the Senator,” he said. Causey would also complete reports for letters and emails that the office received, and assisted legislative staff with summaries, memos and research. He also gave tours of the capitol to visitors, and snuck a stuffed Fighting Okra onto a shelf in Wicker’s office.
A Fighting Okra is now in position to keep an eye on things in the Capitol for DSU!
Causey says that he hopes to return to D.C. to further his career after he graduates. “I just think there’s a lot of opportunity. If you talk to a D.C. person, they do not mind talking about themselves, so it’s easy to establish a connection. And when you establish those connections, you start networking, and you just have a lot more career opportunities.”
Causey plans to pursue a career in politics. He said, “It’ll probably be policy first, then later, dive into politics.”
For more information about the Delta State Congressional Fellows Program, contact the Office of Student Affairs at 662-846-4150.
