Trevecca student Chelsie Hardin Reed ’08 recently served as Speaker of the House for the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature’s (TISL) November general assembly.  The assembly, held November 8-12, brought more than 70 students from 18 colleges and universities throughout Tennessee to take part in debates held within the State of Tennessee’s House and Senate Chambers.

TISL is an entirely student-run program made up of college students within the state of Tennessee that write, debate, and consider bills that are actually passed on to the Governor and the state legislature for review.

As speaker, Hardin Reed presided over TISL’s House of Representatives, which was comprised of 48 students.

“I think it is important to step up to difficult leadership positions and to practice more developed leadership skills,” she said. “There were quite a few hot potato bills that were considered and more than a dozen that were passed and will go on to the state legislature.”

Hardin Reed was impressed by the students’ ability to leave the arguments and debates within the chamber and to create friendships despite disagreements.

In addition to debating many bills, students at the general assembly were addressed by Governor Phil Bredesen as well as previous TISL government members, who had flown in from Washington.

Hardin Reed is a junior social science major from Huntsville, AL. She is secretary of the junior class at Trevecca. While in high school, she participated in Alabama Youth Legislature and is also a veteran of the Alabama and National High School Mock Trial Championships.