Ian Namelka became acquainted with Students For Liberty through fraternity brothers at Utah State who introduced him to fellow Aggies for Liberty on campus, as well as regional SFL volunteers.
“I knew I wanted to be a campus coordinator very soon after that,” he said. His pro-liberty ideas didn’t fit neatly into a traditional political box.
He continued, “So my ideals never really fit in line with anyone until I found SFL. I always believed people should have the right to do whatever they want so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else, I just never knew how to put it into words.”
One of his greatest memories was a free speech ball event, sponsored by a local think tank.
He said, “The ball we bought for the event was huge. It drew a lot of attention on campus from both the students and the administration. I think we had over 500 people write on the ball that day on the quad.”
He also had the opportunity to meet with the university administration about pieces of their student guidelines which were unconstitutional.
In 2018, Ian saw that no one had submitted their name to run for an open city council seat in Mendon, Utah. He decided to step up.
Speaking on his advice to other young leaders, he noted, “Step up, learn something, fail often, and never stop asking questions.”
Ian Namelka was 26 years old at the time of his election. Speaking on his plan, he shared that he wants to bring a generational perspective to local leadership. He said, A diversity of opinion and perspective matters when making key decisions for the future.”
Ian further described how Students For Liberty prepared him for local government.
“I had always known being in an elected position was going to be difficult but, with the help of SFL, I saw some of the pitfalls many of my peers fall into when they went to work for the government or became elected officials.”
“Nothing is free. Everyone has an interest. Incentives matter. And most importantly, government (no matter how big or small), is for the people, not the other way around.”
To read more student stories, be sure to check out our cluster page by clicking on the button below.
This piece solely expresses the opinion of the author and not necessarily the organization as a whole. Students For Liberty is committed to facilitating a broad dialogue for liberty, representing a variety of opinions.
