Motion to succeed

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a 2006 Political Science graduate from Metropolitan State University of Denver, in November became the first Roadrunner elected to represent Colorado in Congress. She and another MSU Denver alumna, Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida, are two of a record 128 women serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.

RED spoke with Pettersen about the value of education, her career in politics and her legislative priorities.

Why are you such a proponent of public schools? My family started off as a regular family with regular problems. Then my mom, like so many people, was overprescribed opioids. She became wildly addicted when I was 6 years old. So my brothers and I relied on our schools. School was where adults were our mentors and believed in us. When I think about where taxpayer dollars should go, it’s really critical services like schools. Those are the fundamental things that we invest in that change the likelihood of success for so many people. MSU Denver is an important part of my story too. It was the school that made the direction that I wanted to go possible. I am thankful for the work MSU Denver does to change students’ lives like it did for me.

How did you get started in politics? I never thought I was going to run for office. I started working for candidates and issues I believe in, and when a (Colorado House of Representatives) seat opened up in 2012 in my community, a lot of people asked me to run. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done — definitely scarier than running for Congress. It was a very tough race, and I was pitched as a guaranteed loss, but on election night I won by 10 points.

What are you most proud of from your decade in the Colorado legislature? There are so many things, but the most personal for me is my work and leadership on behavioral health issues. When I was fighting to save my mom’s life and seeing firsthand how decimated the system was, I felt a responsibility to be a voice for the people who are always left behind.

What are your top priorities in Congress? Right now, it’s recovery from the pandemic as families continue to struggle with rising costs. Within that is affordable housing, access to child care and investment in the workforce. And we need to actually invest in higher education so that it’s affordable for students.

Roadrunner gets back on track

Life put hurdles in Maya Ries’ path. Her first college experience didn’t go as planned. She struggled academically, dropped out and subsequently faced mental health struggles, unhealthy relationships and lackluster jobs. Despite the challenges, Ries found her way back to the classroom — and the track — at Metropolitan State University of Denver. In her first race in six years, the nontraditional student set a school record. She’s since become the fastest hurdler in the University’s history, breaking her school record eight times.