Monday, Bustos talked with students at Augustana College about her years in the U.S House. And she encouraged them to vote, volunteer in campaigns, and find programs that teach how to run for office.

“I hope that the message that you will leave here thinking is that public service is still a noble cause. It’s still something that if you think you might want to run for office at some point, if the way Washington behaves right now scares you off a little bit, I hope I will leave you with a more positive way of looking at it.”

After the 2016 election, Bustos created the “Build the Bench” program to get more people involved in Congress.

“It is designed especially for, especially for not exclusively to, young people, women, and people of color.”

Eric Sorenson, the current representative for Illinois’ 17th District is a graduate of Bustos’ “Build the Bench” program.

Anyone interested in finding out more about elections at the local, state, or national levels, go to the nonpartisan site Vote.org.