Kristen Vander-Plas is truly an exceptional young woman. At twenty-four years of age she is currently the youngest female delegate to represent West Texas at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Kristen was also chosen to participate in a series of C-SPAN interviews concerning the convention, two of which are linked below.
Currently in her Senior year at LCU, Kristen, worked for five years to save money and build support in West Texas, hoping to make her dream of being a delegate a reality. Her drive and perseverance for both setting and meeting this goal is truly admirable.
One of the main reasons Kristen traveled to RNC was to dispute rule 16a2. If accepted, states would only be allowed to choose national delegates from a pool of “acceptable choices,” as determined by the presidential nominee. As of August 26th, a compromise was reached that allowed the presidential nominee to veto any delegates he or she disapproved of. However, this still wasn’t acceptable to Vander-Plas. But good news came Monday, which Kristen describes on her blog:
The amendment to Rule 16a2 has been voluntarily removed, with the blessing of the RNC and the Romney campaign. Now, instead, delegates will be completely chosen by their individual states, under their state party rules. They will be bound on the first vote, and will lose their delegate privileges if they break their bound vote and choose someone else. This is a VICTORY!!! It is my understanding that the Minority Report on Rule 16a2 has been withdrawn, since the objection no longer applies.
Kristen is also incredibly involved at LCU, where she served as the LCU College Republicans President, is currently the Alpha Chi Collegiate Honors Society President, and is the Senior Representative for the Student Honors Advisory Council. She holds a chair in the LCU Student Leadership Council and is a Coalition Member for the College Republican National Committee Religious Outreach Coalition. She hopes to study law at Texas Tech University in the fall.
Despite her age, Kristen has already achieved a great many things, and we can only expect to see many more achievements from her as the years pass. We are so proud to have Kristen representing the Honors Program, LCU, and West Texas in Florida!
Sources for this article can be found here and here.
You can follow Kristen’s pictures and tweets here, or read her blog as she describes her time in Florida
The Honors College at Lubbock Christian University 
It’s an honor to be here – thanks for reporting it! As I always tell my peers as the Chairman of the Student Leadership Council – we are here at LCU to learn how to change lives. LCU, and the Honors Program in particular, have given me the tools to go out and experience and enable others to experience “life-changing” opportunities. I look forward to sharing my experiences with all of you when I get home. Listen closely – you’ll hear a mighty “Go Chaps!” From right here in Tampa, FL!