University of Alabama student Jalen Drummond of Wedowee has joined the Business Council of Alabama for the summer.
The BCA regularly invites college students to experience the workings of the state’s largest business advocacy organization. “The BCA offers fellowships each year to select students as a way to expose them to the business and advocacy worlds,” said BCA President and CEO William J. Canary.
Drummond will be a senior this fall and is majoring in political science with a minor in communication studies.
“Working with an advocacy organization gives me the opportunity to see how structuring and promoting a message works in the political atmosphere of Alabama’s capital and in the nation’s capital,” Drummond said.
He is assigned to the BCA communications department and will report to Nancy Wall Hewston, senior vice president of communications, strategic information and federal affairs.
Drummond interned in Washington, D.C., for U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, where he managed and updated his official social media platforms, drafted and edited press releases, speeches, and official statements, attended committee hearings, and conducted Capitol tours.
Since May, Drummond has been captain of the University of Alabama speech team where he serves as the chief liaison between student competitors and coaching staff.
Drummond recently represented the state of Alabama at the National Interstate Oratory Competition. With only the top two persuasive speakers from each state eligible for the tournament, it is widely considered to be the most prestigious oratory contest in the United States, currently in its 143rd year. Drummond placed third in this year’s national final round.
Drummond works as a leasing consultant in Tuscaloosa and generated more than $1 million in revenue by leasing living quarters. He also was a news intern for Alabama Public Radio in Tuscaloosa in 2016 and served as director of outreach for University of Alabama College Republicans, serving as the chief recruitment officer.