Lance Vincent Wheeler

It was in 2008 when Lance Wheeler, a student at the University of Kentucky, received an email from a man named Dr. Rand Paul asking to come speak at his Students for Liberty group.

“(He) was unknown at the time in politics, but wanted to run for U.S. Senate,” Wheeler said. “I said yes, and eventually he offered me a job.”

After Congressman Rand Paul’s (R-KY) successful election to the U.S. Senate, Wheeler left college without a degree to take a job at conservative non-profit The Leadership Institute working for Campus Reform, a program that helps students start conservative groups on their campuses.

Now, at 22, Wheeler manages the Leadership Institute’s sister organization, the Conservative Leadership PAC – a political action committee that raises money for conservative candidates and helps them with their youth outreach efforts.

“There’s definitely a need in the Republican Party today for young people to get involved,” Wheeler said. In the upcoming election, Wheeler said he believes young people must make the economy their foremost concern.

“For young people especially, we will not have any voice in the social conservative aspect if we don’t fix our economy soon,” he said.

His advice to young people who are interested in politics is to fight for a cause you are passionate about.

“Do things because you care about that issue. Don’t work for an organization because (they have) a good job for you, work for that organization because you believe in it,” he said. Otherwise, “you’re never going to work 100 percent efficient to what you can do.”