Oklahoma City Community College: The Power to Create Change
March 2, 2026
ENACT Faculty Fellow Emily Stacey has deep experience in Oklahoma politics, including working as a state house journalist at the Oklahoma State Capitol. “I learned invaluable lessons and made lifelong networks within Oklahoma politics,” says Dr. Stacey. She brings those lessons and networks to her ENACT courses at Oklahoma City Community College and Rose State College in Oklahoma.
Her ENACT course “State and Local Government” (POLS2113),required for Oklahoma City Community College political science students, “immerses students in their government rather than a textbook,” says Dr. Stacey.
It features a semester-long project that requires students to attend committee meetings, listen to a legislative session, meet with Oklahoma House and Senate members, contact the Oklahoma political media, and liaison with lobbyists and other advocacy organizations involved with their legislation.
“This is a truly eye-opening experience for many of my students, most of whom are native Oklahomans but have not been introduced properly to state democratic politics,” says Dr. Stacey. “It is incredibly important to me as an educator but also a democratic citizen, that my students are leaving a course such as ‘State and Local Government’ feeling tethered to their governance and empowered to advocate for policies that they care deeply about.”
“This class is an opportunity not just for them but for me to remind myself of the power that each one of us holds as citizens of a democracy. Politics is a verb. You must go about ‘doing’ it, and that is something that students in this course take with them. The power is in their hands to create change.”
“We are thrilled to be part of the ENACT network. ENACT is seamlessly assisting in spreading this message to my students and beyond via their incredible network of faculty and students. ENACT is the perfect partner for my course and my students.”
Her students agree:
“I wanted a course that moved past theories and focused on the realities of Oklahoma’s political structure; knowing how the system actually operates and getting to interact with that process directly is a massive advantage in bridging the gap between textbook and future career,” says Victoria Soto ’27.
“I'm excited to learn about different representatives and senators in my own state and what actions they take to create change in our state,” says her classmate Nejamia M. Davis ’27.
“This course has made me realize that we all need to be aware and involved with local government,” says Levy Alvarado ’27 “It affects everyone’s day to day lives but most of us don’t stop to think how we have the power to influence and change our local government.”