John Griswold, senior in political science, always saw himself as a behind-the-scenes kind of guy.

Initially more comfortable painting campaign signs than debating issues in front of voters, Griswold said his decision to run for a spot in the Iowa House of Representatives took some convincing from Iowa Republican Party leaders.

In fact, he still isn’t sure he wants to spend his entire life in public office.

“My original goal was to work as an analyst for the Department of Defense or a consulting firm,” he said. “That still might be where I want to end up.”

For now, however, Griswold is committed to his campaign, but he must also negotiate the challenges of his final semester at Iowa State.

As both a full-time student and candidate, Griswold said his time for sleep and schoolwork is dwindling as the Nov. 7 election nears.

On a typical night, he said he gets about four hours of sleep.

“As the time gets shorter, I’m getting less time for things that don’t have to do with my campaign,” he said.

At 7 a.m. last Wednesday, Griswold trudged along Phoenix Street through the morning darkness, a cold drizzle falling as he stuck fliers to the doors of houses lining the street.

Griswold said he starts most days with at least a couple hours of flier dropping, but he had to cut the effort short Wednesday to work on a presentation for an anthropology class.

He described his balancing act of school and campaign responsibilities as a clash of two hectic worlds.

“It’s a juggling act,” he said. “You always have a plan, but it’s always changing.”

Griswold, 29, who will graduate in December, enrolled at Iowa State after eight years in the U.S. Air Force.

He met his wife Sibel in 2000 while stationed in Turkey.

His experience at Iowa State, he said, offers him first-hand insight into student issues such as rising tuition and debt.

“We need to raise funding of the Regents institutions to stabilize tuition,” he said.

“The state expects students to pay more, but it’s not just students that the burden falls on, it’s the students’ parents and grandparents as well.”

Griswold’s opponent for the Iowa House District 46 seat, incumbent Lisa Heddens, D-Ames, said she has also emphasized the importance of stabilizing tuition increases in her two terms in Des Moines.

Heddens said past state allocations to the Iowa Board of Regents have limited Iowa’s state universities in how they can use the funding.

She called for an increase in general allocations that would allow the Regents to decide where the state dollars are best spent.

“There’s been some controversy over funding, that it was not targeted at general operating funds,” she said. “So I’d like to give the Regents a bit more flexibility by putting money towards those general costs.”

She also stressed the importance of communication between ISU students, faculty and administration with state lawmakers.

“I think each year I’ve been down there, the students have been more vocal, but once the session ends, we don’t hear as much.” she said. “I would encourage students to continue that contact throughout the year.”

Griswold said he hopes his efforts as a student running for office will inspire similar political participation in other students.

“If I can activate a platform to get more younger people involved, then I think student issues will have to be taken more seriously by politicians,” he said.