The Iowa Federation of College Republicans held their annual convention April 22, inspiring young republicans from across the state of Iowa.

Located at Drake University, the convention included speeches from Sen. Joni Ernst, Rep. David Young, and State Auditor Mary Mosiman.

Along with the politicians that spoke at the convention, Polk County political consultant gave a presentation on fundraising.

Ten colleges from throughout the state of Iowa attended the conference.

Outgoing Chairman Steve Kelly of Dordt College passed his role onto Michael Fredrickson, sophomore in industrial technology at Iowa State.

Fredrickson has been a part of the Iowa Federation of College Republicans since his second semester on campus last January.

While not originally seeking leadership roles within the College Republicans, Fredrickson said that encouragement from other members of the club pushed him into various leadership positions.

Fredrickson began his involvement by being appointed the executive director of the College Republicans at Iowa State and then, was elected the treasurer of the Iowa Federation of College Republicans. From there, he was the treasurer of the College Republicans at Iowa State.

Fredrickson said that the biggest takeaway from the convention was the unity shown throughout the day.

Regarding the convention, Fredrickson said that it “truly showed the strength in youth conservative voters.”

“The news media shows all youth as very hard leaning left voters, [which] is not an accurate representation, especially in Iowa,” he said.

According to The Atlantic, President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton split the 2016 election vote 45% each amongst voters aged 18-24. Voters aged 25-29 favored Trump strongly.

Fredrickson said that his favorite speaker at the convention was Ernst, who spoke about her journey in politics.

Ernst spoke about her time at Iowa State and how an agricultural exchange trip to Ukraine influenced her political views.

Ernst said that she experienced socialism while in Ukraine as she was not allowed to use the phone unless she told the manager that she was staying with “who she was talking to, why she was talking to them and how long it was going to take.”

Following her graduation from Iowa State, Ernst enlisted in the military until 2015, when she was elected to the U.S. Senate.

“She is truly an inspiration for all youth in Iowa wishing to get involved with politics,” Fredrickson said.

Along with Fredrickson as chairman, during the convention Logan Kentner of Drake was elected vice chair. Haley Meyer of Loras was elected secretary and Ryan Kelly of Cornell was elected treasurer.