Phoebe Denbo is a freshman studying political science. She was born in Albany, Oregon, but raised in Sweet Home for the majority of her life. She is the second oldest of nine children. She loves reading, running, hiking, and swimming. Denbo has run two marathons and is planning for a third one in October. She recently began her first term as LBCC’S vice president of the Student Leadership Council.
Currently, she works as a swim instructor for young children at the Sweet Home Community Pool. She has a compassionate heart to serve those around her and meet students’ needs, especially those who are struggling with mental health.
What made you choose political science?
I have goals to go into policy analysis, so I’d like to shape public policy and try to implement that.
What brought you to LBCC specifically?
Just first of all, the distance. It was close, to be completely transparent. And then I have family who went here as well and I took some classes with my mom. She’d bring me in when I was a little kid, and so I’ve always liked the campus.
How did you originally get involved with the SLC?
Yeah, so I took one of [SLC advisor] Rob Camp’s classes. It was my first year seminar that you’re required to attend [as a freshman]. He had mentioned the SLC and then one of my classmates was Lileanna, the current president, and [Camp] mentioned that they were looking for interns and that seemed like a really, really good way to get involved on campus. I kind of have the belief that the more involved in a community you are, the more likely you are to succeed. So that kind of was the path to that. And I started as an intern.
How is the internship different from being vice president?
So when you’re an intern, what you do is you shadow all the other roles in the SLC with the goal that, I believe at the beginning of spring term, you’ll choose the role that you align with the most and then they’ll have somebody to fill that role.
When did your term start?
I was actually already sworn in, I think it was April 16. So right now there’s two vice presidents, but that will go through fall of 2025 and then into spring of 2026.
What will your new roles and responsibilities look like as vice president?
So one of the key responsibilities is just working well as a team. The only way the SLC can be successful and do the roles effectively is if we all work together. The other one is disciplinary actions within the SLC. Also the campus blood drives – that’s a really, really big thing that we do. So I’ll be organizing that. I’ll be managing incoming interns for the fall. That’s one of the big things that we do. Campus outreach, I have some hand in that. There are other roles too and responsibilities.
What would you say the team dynamic is like within the SLC?
Very, very positive. I haven’t had a bad experience with anyone. The mutual support has been really, really emphasized. We have multiple event planners and multiple volunteer coordinators, so no one is really doing one job alone. Even Lileanna and I will kind of lean on each other. So it’s overwhelmingly positive. We’re overwhelmingly just a team player community, so to speak.
What are some challenges that the SLC expects to face within this upcoming school year?
Issues with food insecurity and basic resources [for students]. Trying to find ways to address them that are actually effective for the student body. We’ve had some really, really good conversations about some actions that we can implement going forward, but I think just finding a good way to meet the needs of the student body.
How do you plan on overcoming those challenges?
Just leaning on each other. I think a key to success is being able to bounce ideas off of one another and kind of playing through what might work and what might not. We’ve had some really good ideas that we’re hoping to implement. … So it’s really just dialogue and being willing to communicate with one another.
What have been the most rewarding parts of the political science program?
So I just changed [my major] last semester from environmental science. There are positives. I think the programs that I’m in kind of open up the world a little bit more in particular. This is kind of separate from my major, but one of the extracurriculars I’m involved in is the Civil Discourse Program. And it’s just about fostering healthy dialogue with people who are vastly different from you sometimes. And then this term, I’m taking a critical debate and discourse class in anthropology. And so these classes have kind of expanded my worldview a bit and they just made my life a little bit richer outside of school.
What made you decide to change to political science?
Part of that was I didn’t like some of the classes that I was having to take. And I realized I really like engaging with people. I like analysis and addressing modern issues in a healthy dialogue way. And so I think that’s kind of what prompted me to shift my path a little bit.
How do you balance your work, school, and SLC life?
It’s a challenge. If you talk to anyone from the SLC, they’ll tell you the same thing. It’s just making time for everything I have to do during the week, truthfully is what it is. And then I think the biggest thing I’m running into is it’s very, very easy to overextend myself if I know that people have expectations of me. And so what I’ve done is kind of build standards of expectation for myself. So that’s something I can always fall back on if I fail to meet some perceived expectation from another person, if that makes sense.
What do you hope to accomplish most while the SLC vice president?
I really like to address basic needs. Food insecurities are a really, really big one. It’s been in the top three concerns of the student body for several years now. And then it’s mental health. That’s been a really, really big one, especially in recent years. And so we’re trying to establish a mental health committee to address those concerns of the student body. So I’d like to provide more resources for students in particular if we can find some continuity of care for mental health.
Why do you believe students should volunteer with the SLC?
This goes back to something that I said earlier, which is you are more likely to succeed if you are an active participant in the community. Outside of that, just for practical reasons, it looks great on a resume if you’re planning on attending a university. And then the kinds of people you meet and the relationships that you build can go on to serve you. Again, going back to what I said, they just make your life richer, I think.
What are some of your plans for after LBCC?
I’d really like to attend OSU. I’ve been on the campus a few times for some debates actually in some really interesting talks and lectures. I really liked the campus, really liked the people I met there. And so I think the goal, they have a policy analysis program, I believe, or a public policy program that I’d like to attend.
Are there any role models in your life who influenced you into the field that you’re going into?
Yeah, actually the most prominent one that comes to mind is my Aunt Layne. She lives in Washington, D.C. but she was a former diplomat for the United States. She’s had a really crazy and interesting life. One of the pieces of advice she gave me that has always stuck with me is, “You’re not going to change the whole world, but you can change what’s around you.” At the time, hearing that at 12 years old, it was like, what? I can change the whole world. I can do all these things. But now as an adult I can see the practicality of that and the importance of that. So she was highly influential. My mother, of course, everyone says their mom, but she was a single mom growing up. She went to college as well, trying to manage all of us. So just seeing her work ethic has been really, really influential to me as well.
What advice would you give to students who are considering going into the political science program?
Make time to reach across the aisle and to talk to people who are different than you. I was just having a conversation about this, but so often we kind of get into these mindsets of the echo chambers. So reach beyond the echo chamber and make efforts to expand, and expand your circle and your community. I think it could only be for the betterment of the entire community.
This article originally appeared in the May 2025 edition of The Commuter.
