Angela Morabito, former Press Secretary at the Department of Education, joined Rexburg’s Turning Point USA chapter on Thursday at Pizza Pie Cafe to share her experiences and findings with the American government and education system.

Morabito worked under former Secretary Betsy DeVos during the first Trump administration and is now a spokesperson for the Defense of Freedom Institute. On Thursday, Morabito joined TPUSA as a volunteer through the Leadership Institute and spoke for herself and not as a speaker for TPUSA or any other organizations.

Morabito said she has spoken to Turning Point groups at many colleges and that someone at the Leadership Institute reached out to her to see if she would like to visit students of Rexburg. This stop is her only one for the trip, and it is her first time in Idaho. This visit made it the 33rd state she has been to.

“Someone at the Leadership Institute reached out to me, and I've spoken to Turning Point groups at a whole bunch of colleges before,” said Morabito. “So, it's something I love to do, to come out and talk to students. I was honored to be invited.”

Morabito said her time in Washington, DC gave her insight into how America’s educational systems are being run and she has become more passionate in the effort to help them.

“I’m absolutely passionate about education,” Morabito said. “I'm a proud graduate of a public charter high school, and I learned very quickly in my time in DC that, honestly, American education is a mess, and students deserve so much better. So getting to see that up close at the Department of Education was a real learning experience for me, and now I get to go to work advocating for America's students and great teachers. It's something that I really love because if education continues in this country the way it's been led for so long, we're about to be in real trouble.”

Morabito shared her thoughts on America’s educational system and how she feels it is failing children across the country.

“I was very blessed to be part of the first Trump administration, and having that front row seat to not just what was going on in our schools, but what happened during and after COVID,” Morabito said. “The things I learned in that role, and the variety of schools that I saw and people who I got to meet all across the country, left a really deep impression on me. So from there, I have no intention of getting out of the education advocacy pipeline because there’s a great need to fix the problems with the system we all face now.”

Kimber Pearce, Rexburg’s TPUSA’s president, said the chapter is not an official BYU-Idaho group. Pearce added that while they do tend to talk about topics that are traditionally considered “more conservative,” they have open arms to students, regardless of their political views or affiliation.

Pearce said students can get involved with Rexburg’s TPUSA chapter by following the group’s Instagram page and attending advertised events.