18-year-old Megan Stoner is a regular at the Indiana Statehouse.
“Usually I'm tired when I go there, it's a politico's life,” she said in an Eyewitness News interview.
She’s far from your average teenager.
“I've learned that politics is a harsh reality,” the Elwood teen said when summing up her political involvement that totals an impressive seven years.
At 11 years old, her aunt asked her to join the walk for an Elwood mayoral candidate, fueling a journey that's never stopped.
“I had been involved in the 2008 election with President Obama's race, but I've changed political philosophies,” Stoner said.
Her passion for youth involvement won't change; in fact, it could be her legacy.
On her bulletin board hangs the bill she helped write. It seeks to lower the age to run for the Senate office in Indiana from age 25 to age 21; and from age 21 to age 18 in the Indiana House.
“If we can go overseas and fight, why can't we come back home and run for office?” she asked.
That question stuck out as she considered her father's history as a veteran. So, she started to research the current law and vowed to change it.
While reaching out to powerful lawmakers may seem intimidating, a friend pushed her to go for it.
“At the time I laughed at him. I thought no way," Stoner said. "And then a couple of months later, I got the bill drafted. I worked on it, and some state reps thought it was a good idea and they took up the bill."
It could be heard next year at her favorite place — the Indiana Statehouse. In fact, a picture of it hangs above her bed.
“This is my palace," she said. "I want to do this one day. I want to serve in this building and say I made a difference and every time I go there, it is still that feeling.
While she waits for progress on her bill, she joins the rest of the nation focused on the Indiana Primary and she's not shy with her thoughts.
“I don't see Mr. Trump representing my views," Stoner said. "He keeps saying he's a Republican, and if he's the nominee, I will not vote for him and I am comfortable saying that because he does not represent me or my conservative values."
The high school senior is articulate and to her, politicians are celebrities.
“This will be something I'll treasure for the rest of my life, because he's retiring. I was on cloud nine, I was like can I get an autograph,” she said about her meeting with Senator Dan Coats.
In her photo book, you'll find every debate she's attended and every political figure she's met. It's a chapter in a book that's just beginning.
“That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said about attending a presidential debate in January.
Her stack of credentials rivals someone twice her age.
On the television in her bedroom, you won't find comedies or reality shows. Instead, she has election coverage turned on in the background.
To say that this teen eats, breathes, and lives politics would be an understatement. She also sleeps it, thanks to her blanket that is made solely out of campaign tee shirts.
“I have Congresswoman Brooks," she said. "My biggest female influence, I'd say. I had so many piling up in my closet, they were taking over my dress clothes."
It's all part of the fabric of a high school senior that you’ll probably hear from again.
When asked if she might run for governor, she laughed, “I might. I don't know.”
Stoner will graduate in June from Elwood High School where she attends classes in the morning. She's taking a political internship at the Hinds Career Center, which allows her to be involved with several campaigns and political offices.
She’s contemplating what she’ll do after high school. She’s not certain she’ll go to college, so that she can get involved in politics right away.
“I think I want to work in the private sector," Stoner said. "I think that's my calling. I want to use the talents and the gifts I've been given to the best of my ability, and for me, that's not running for office, especially right now. Maybe down the road. I want to work in a swing state, I think. I'm looking at Ohio, but Indiana will always be my home, especially small town Elwood."
