At Harvard, Elise Stefanik, now the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, was a member of a rare minority group. She was a conservative.
Growing up in a small business family that faced constant challenges from taxes and red tape helped form Stefanik’s political principles. Being a member of such an intellectual minority while a student at Harvard tested her on why she stood for the principles that she did. She says it also taught her to listen to the other side.
“It’s not that I graduated from Harvard that I’m most proud of, it’s that I graduated Harvard and stayed a Republican and a Yankee fan,” she says.
Stefanik’s parents were not political and did not have the opportunity to graduate from college, but taught Elise the hard work it takes to run a business. “Nothing replaces having a strong work ethic in whatever you do. And having an idea or passion about an issue. That’s the message for anybody, not just women, but for anybody.”
It has been a little over one hundred days since Stefanik was sworn into office. She prefers to be known as Elise, which most of her constituents call her when she travels back to the 21st New York district.
“That was my campaign slogan. Instead of Stefanik for Congress, I chose Elise for Congress because I wanted people to see that I want to be something different,” she said.
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