Alea Couch ’12

As a committee aide for the Senate Democrats in the New Jersey State Legislature, Alea Couch is the principal researcher and advisor to legislators for issues related to the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee and Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Alea’s first foray into government work occurred while she was an undergraduate at Rutgers University (she has a B.A. in political science and government) and completed a four-month internship in Burlington County with then-Assemblyman Troy Singleton who is now a State Senator. “My internship turned into a job offer and I was able to rise through the ranks to become his Policy Coordinator which is when my love for public policy truly began,” she said.

In reflecting on her MFS experience, Alea pointed to an Intensive Learning experience in Philadelphia that made an impact on her. She reflected: “At the time the Northern Liberties neighborhood was up and coming so we learned about gentrification and the impact that it has on communities. It was the first time I learned what gentrification was and what it looked like but now it’s a concept I come in contact with often. That experience was memorable in the sense that it put emphasis on the need to weave a community and its neighborhood development together to make sure there is a holistic transformation that positively impacts the neighborhood and its residents.”

My MPE Memory (2008): “It was an exciting year to participate even though I was only in eighth grade at the time. The odds of history being made were high because there was a chance we’d have our first female President or our first African American President. Having the opportunity to be part of that experience shed light on how important civic engagement is because the MPE gave students a chance to see how democracy is supposed to work. You listen, you learn, and you make a decision with your vote; it was an invaluable experience.”