In the current edition of the quarterly news magazine The New Dominion, writer Chris Graham profiles “Generation X” elected leaders like David taking the reigns in Virginia government:
For David Englin and others in the thirtysomething group that is taking root in the state legislature, family is a big reason why they are involving themselves in the civic arena at such an early age.
“Growing up in a home with a single mother who was a public-school teacher on military bases overseas meant that I grew up in an environment where public service was the norm and the expectation,” Englin said.
Click the following for the full article: “Generation Next: Kids of the ’70s, ’80s now taking leadership role in state government.”
“My mother’s background and philosophy was that you have a duty to try to figure out how you can give back. She was of that JFK generation of, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’ And that was the example that she set for me,” Englin said.
“I grew up in an environment where every one of my friends had at least one parent who was serving in the military - or in my mother’s case, she was a Department of Defense civilian employee as an elementary-school teacher. It was a culture of public service - a culture of serving something greater than yourself. And from that, I went off into the United States Air Force Academy wanting to serve my country and make the world a better place. And I think that all ties together,” Englin said.
“Whatever I do in life, whether it’s in public office or not, the most important thing to me is that I’m doing something to make the world a better place. I think that upbringing has molded what I have done politically,” Englin said.
Click the following for the full article: “Generation Next: Kids of the ’70s, ’80s now taking leadership role in state government.”
