Benjamin got his start in public policy when his mother, Rebecca Friedrichs, became the lead plaintiff in a Supreme Court case, Friedrichs vs. CTA. After being involved with the court case and witnessing the corruption of the Left, Benjamin became even more passionate about advancing conservative ideas on campus. Benjamin’s YAF activities include the 9/11: Never Forget Project and Freedom Week, and he has also attended several YAF conferences and seminars. He organized YAF campus lectures featuring Star Parker, Rick Santorum, Rebecca Friedrichs, and Lt. Col. Allen West. As a blue-collar Christian conservative, Benjamin hopes to restore the values of faith and freedom in our nation.
Dylan Croup is a rising senior at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. Dylan was born and raised in Winter Park, Florida, where he first became interested in conservative ideas by watching John Stossel’s show and Ben Shapiro’s videos. He attended YAF’s National Conservative Student Conference in 2017 and 2018, which inspired him to become more involved in the Conservative Movement. He is the vice chairman and one of the founding members of the Stetson University Young Americans for Freedom chapter. He has helped the chapter host incredible conservative speakers, including Bay Buchanan, Jesse Watters, Christina Hoff Sommers, and Burt Folsom. Dylan is a history major and aspires to become a history professor. He is deeply concerned with the way the United States has been demonized in the public school system and in academia and seeks to correct this by teaching future generations the truth about America’s unique and remarkable history.
Parker Bowman is originally from Elizabethtown, Kentucky. From a young age, he realized he had conservative values, but he first became interested in the Conservative Movement through a high school government class. Parker became familiar with Young America’sFoundation through videos of Ben Shapiro’s YAF lectures. He credits Shapiro and YAF for igniting his passion for the Conservative Movement. He is a rising junior at the University of Kentucky and serves as the chairman of his school’s YAF chapter, which he also helped found. Parker’s work with YAF and other campus conservatives has inspired him to continue to advance the Conservative Movement. He is studying political science and has plans to go to law school. Parker is excited to grow his YAF chapter and reach more students through hosting conservative speakers and other activism events at the University of Kentucky. Parker is honored to be interning with the Foundation that helped introduce and inspire him to join the Conservative Movement nearly four years ago.
Jaime Hahn is a rising senior at Kennesaw State University studying organization and professional communication. Jaime co-founded the Young Americans for Freedom chapter at her school in 2017, the same year she attended her first conference. Since then, her chapter has hosted Katie Pavlich and Rachel Campos-Duffy, in addition to organizing YAF’s 9/11: Never Forget Project and No More Che Day. In 2018, Jaime’s YAF chapter filed a lawsuit against the university’s blatantly unconstitutional student organization policies. The Chancellor of the University System of Georgia required a full investigation into the school’s policy and faculty, and YAF KSU achieved a legal victory. Jaime is involved in her church, teaching a preschool Sunday school class for eight years and serving in the church library. She enjoys reading, particularly Jane Austen, and listening to classic rock.
Joseph Ballard is the founder and current chair of Young Americans for Freedom at the University of Alabama. Originally from San Jose, California, Joseph got his start in the Conservative Movement as a freshman in high school at Bellarmine College Preparatory, where he became active in his school’s YAF chapter. At Alabama, Joseph is studying finance, economics, and public policy. As a YAF activist, Joseph has helped with a variety of campus events including the 9/11: Never Forget Project, Freedom Week, and No More Che Day. He also recently hosted Ben Shapiro through YAF’s exclusive Fred Allen Lecture Series. Joseph has interned at the Foundation previously, as well as in the office of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher–a YAF alumnus–who represented California’s 48th Congressional District. In his free time, Joseph enjoys backpacking and surfing and is an avid supporter of the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kate Westa is a rising senior at the University of Michigan where she also serves as the vice chair of the Young Americans for Freedom chapter. Despite administrative roadblocks, University of Michigan YAF has hosted sold-out lectures featuring Steven Crowder, Michael Knowles, and Ben Shapiro during the 2018-2019 academic year. For advancing conservative ideas, Kate has been maligned by the school newspaper as a white supremacist, racist, and bigot. While tabling, Kate and her follow YAF members have been pushed, spit at, flipped off, and had obscenities shouted at them. The University of Michigan YAF chapter, however, continues to fill lecture halls to capacity as its members work to bring conservative ideas and intellectual diversity to campus. During Kate’s tenure, the University of Michigan YAF chapter has more than tripled in size and she continues to boldly advance conservative ideas among her peers despite institutional and student-led attempts to chill free expression on campus.
