A story before bed is a common negotiation between a parent and a child. What qualifies as a go-to bedtime story can differ from family to family, but for Joe Shepherd, freshman in pre-business, his bedtime stories were the stories of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great.

It was this beginning that sparked Shepherd’s interest in politics. The 18-year-old, full-time student is managing the campaign for U.S. Senate candidate Cal Woods, though Shepherd didn’t always expect to be running campaigns.

Shepherd’s interest in politics came from his love for history.

“There is a saying that people who often read about history strive to find their place in it,” Shepherd said.

Shepherd said getting into the political world is a good way to help people who need help, and running a campaign is only part of that equation. Shepherd said he puts in about 60 hours a week of work dedicated to the campaign.

His work consists of mostly outreach work, making calls to county chairs all over Iowa to set up relationships and establish connections. However, Shepherd did not expect to be working this high up on the campaign when he met Woods.

Woods came to speak to the College Democrats at Iowa State, and Shepherd said none of the other candidates inspired him. Woods seemed different, and he wanted to get involved.

Shepherd said the switch to online classes due to COVID-19 helped lighten his course workload so he could run the campaign, but the pandemic has created barriers as well. He said understanding the needs of the people is crucial for the campaign, and the best way to do that was face-to-face interaction. 

“Obviously, we can’t do that as a result of coronavirus, so we are doing the next best thing, and that is calling as many people in these towns as we can,” Shepherd said. “If we can’t come to their parlor in person, we will do it over the phone or via Zoom.”

Shepherd described the political world as a combination of a trade and show business.

“You don’t need a degree to be good at it,” Shepherd said. “If I were to drop out, although I don’t intend to, I could probably find a job given my resume. At the same time, it is like show business because to rise up to a really employable level, you kind of have to be noticed by someone of importance.”

Shepherd had worked on other campaigns before but had never run one before. Woods said he did have some concern for someone so young and a full-time student to have the responsibility of running a campaign, but he added Shepherd has managed it well.

“[Shepherd] is a man who punches well above his weight class,” Woods said. “I was very impressed with [Shephard]. He is a very smart young man; he has very good insight and perspective for someone of his [age].”

Woods joined the Democratic Senate primary race in December but said he had been knocking on doors prior to his announcement. He is advocating heavily for climate policies and health care. 

Shepherd said he doesn’t see himself running for office unless there is a reason for him to do so, like there was for Woods. Regardless, Shepherd said he thinks everyone should be involved in politics through voting.

“Obviously, you can’t make everybody vote, but it would be better if everybody did vote,” Shepherd said. “Not everybody has to be an activist or a campaign manager, but I feel like everybody should be aware of who they are voting for and why they made that vote. That is probably the extent of political activism and involvement that everyone should have. But if more people want to get involved and fight for causes they believe in, climate change is a big cause for us, how rural communities are being left behind, health care expansion. If you want to fight for your causes, then, by all means, pick up a shovel and join the fight.”