Men’s Basketball Jasen Blakney Fulfills Dreams at Democratic National Convention

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The saying "following in your brother's footsteps" couldn't ring truer for sophomore Jasen Blakney of the Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team.  Even though Jasen and his brother Jared are a year apart, the Raleigh, North Carolina native decided to apply for an internship to be a part of the Democratic National Committee during the summer of 2012, the same position his older brother held during the spring.

"My brother talked about how much he enjoyed it, was learning and the level of professional exposure, he was so enthusiastic it sparked an interest in me to check it out," said Blakney.  "I filled out the application and was fortunate enough to be chosen for the summer intern program."

Back in 2008, when he was a junior in high school, Jasen watched the political process and had visions of how cool it would be to be on the floor during a political convention instead of following on television.  Even though Jasen was unable to vote in 2008, that didn't stop his support, as he canvassed door-to-door to get people registered to vote as well as getting people out there to vote for President Barack Obama.  Now that he is old enough to vote, he thought that this experience on the national committee was too good to pass and that it was an optimal opportunity for him to increase his input to get President Obama back into the White House.  

"This was a huge growing experience for me. In an environment like that, you have to be aggressive in going after those things that will maximize your experience," commented Blakney.

Blakney felt that being on the basketball team at Carnegie Mellon helped him in multiple ways.  The aggressiveness in the way he plays basketball helped his efforts when there were group projects during his internship.

In the first part of September, Blakney had the opportunity to fly back to North Carolina for the Democratic National Convention (DNC), to work in the network broadcasting studio for the DNC.

"It was really exciting to interact with those people that you see on the news and you read about constantly," said Blakney. "It was a great experience for me all around."

When asked if he was able to meet President Obama, Jasen commented "I never had the chance; it was on my bucket list, but never got checked off."  

As exciting as the experience was, Blakney is not motivated enough to declare his candidacy for president for the 2032 election.    

"Working at the DNC allowed me to experience firsthand how powerful the media is and how important it is to strategically manage the people around you to achieve successful outcomes. When it comes to communicating ideas and how affective your communication is among your team. The most impactful thing I learned was how important it is to communicate effectively" Blakney said.

During the process, Jasen developed a passion for marketing, and he will use his newfound knowledge to benefit the apparel company he and his brother founded, Generations.  The company became an LLC in the summer of 2011 right before Jasen matriculated to Carnegie Mellon.

The idea behind the company is to motivate people to do what they are passionate about and have an impact on their world or the community around them.  Their mission is: "Inspire individuals of our generation to find purpose in their passion." For the Blakneys, Generations is not just a clothing company, but a lifestyle choice.

"I found it interesting to see how politics is just like marketing. The voter is the consumer and the candidate is the product. Some of the exercises I participated in while marketing the Democratic National Convention, I will be able to use to better market my company," Blakney said.