Obama Girls

Marysa Falk, 19, journalism major and Maritza Perez, 20, political science and journalism major, sit across from each other in the lobby of the Joe Crowley Student Union at the University of Nevada, Reno. They are laughing at one another. “I told you we had this twin thing,” Falk says of her friend and political partner in crime, Perez.

For the duration of Perez’s interview, they echo the other’s beliefs as their own, interrupt one another, joke about each other, and sing praises to the man they believe will change the country: Barack Obama.

They call themselves the Obama Girls. Falk, who “cried when [she] met him,” and Perez, who introduced her family to him. Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate, remembers them as the Elko Girls. Both girls introduced him at an Elko, Nev. convention in summer 2007. “It shows what type of person he is,” says Perez.

The Obama girls are fervent, hopeful and intelligent; a perfect example of the young supporters of the presidential candidate. At UNR, the Obama’s inseparable duo led the Northern Nevada Students for Barack Obama (NNSBO) in its first year.

Falk’s and Perez’s interest in Obama was sparked almost simultaneously with the beginning of their friendship. The two met at a party and talked off and on until they met during the summer. At the time, Falk, was working for a lawyer in Elko near her hometown of Spring Creek, Nev. Perez was working for a judge across the street.

“She came to visit me at work during the summer and we just hit it off,” Perez says. “We just started talking, started volunteering for the Obama office.”

Since then, Perez and Falk have been inseparable in working for Obama’s campaign in Nevada. When NNSBO was founded by the Obama campaign in Nevada, the two signed up for leadership positions. Falk was the group’s president and Perez was the vice president. This year, Perez is the club’s voter registration chair while Falk is the activities coordinator.

“It’s a huge passion of mine,” Falk says. “I believe so much in him that I wanted to do more than just say yes, I’m going to vote…I wanted to bring my passion for him and bring it to the table and have other people see that and try to catch on to that.”

But the club has done more than mobilize supporters: it has produce aspiring leaders. Like Perez and Falk, ambitious students itching to see change in the government have taken leadership positions in the club.

“I think what we’ve done thus far on campus is more than I ever imagined,” Falk says. “We’ve reached out to people who wanted to become leaders in the club and have taken those active roles.”

Perez’s and Falk’s friendship has been integral in developing their political interests. Both grew up in the same area but were raised in disparate households. Perez comes from an immigrant family and this has influence her support of Obama and her interest in politics.

“He was a civil rights and human rights attorney and it meant a lot to see him march with the immigrants on May Day,” Perez says. “It gets along with the same lines of civil rights and accepting people.”

Falk, on the other hand, hails from a Republican family. Once she started college, Falk began to identify more with democratic tenets and eventually registered democratic.

“I didn’t really know my beliefs,” Falk says. “I just thought I was Republican because everyone around me as.”

Despite their differences, the two find themselves sharing the same opinions and their lives paralleling one another’s. They both uphold the importance of civil liberties and share a similar name. Yet Perez and Falk recognize what they have to learn and benefit by understanding their differing points of view and backgrounds.

“We’re pretty much in line with each other but I think our ethnic backgrounds make a huge difference on how we think about things,” Perez says.

Still, both believe that Obama has a lot of improvements to offer to the country.

“I think first and foremost he can restore our image,” Perez says. “People really want to see change.”

Originally published in Insight Magazine on October 2008.