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Nicholas Armstorng is a graduate of the fall 2025 contributor cohort and recently became the policy advisor for Health and Human Services, specifically relating to healthcare and family policy, for the Office of Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Nicholas Armstrong’s Impact Interview:
You're a more recent graduate of the Contributor Program but have seen some quick results from your time in Young Voices. How has your writing during the Contributor Program impacted your career?
Before being accepted into the Contributor Program, I considered myself to be an average op-ed writer. I could communicate topics to the small audience I had about the topics that the average American cared about. The commentary and weekly writing tips from the editors at Young Voices were informative ways for me to take my op-ed writing to the next level.
Your focus is primarily on healthcare and family policy. What drew you to these issues and what do you think more people need to understand about them?
I started out in policy not knowing what issues I wanted to tackle. There was a position open for health care and family policy in Texas, which I eagerly accepted. Since then, I have really enjoyed studying health care and coming up with solutions to solve the problems in America.
People need to understand that health care is complicated, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The reason why people feel alienated and want to pull their hair out when dealing with the health care system is because the U.S. has created a system where patients have no say over their health care. With many simple changes to the health care market, patients can wrestle control away from certain actors in healthcare and place more agency back in the hands of patients.
Which media placement that the Young Voices content team helped you place are you most proud of?
The media placement I was most proud of was my op-ed in the Washington Examiner on how to bring down drug prices in the U.S. After that article was published, I was invited to do a segment on the Christian Broadcast Network. Being on TV has always been a professional (and personal) dream of mine, and I was able to achieve that from an article that I wrote that Young Voices helped place.
You recently landed a new role as the Health and Human Services policy advisor, specifically relating to healthcare and family policy, for the Office of Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. What are you most excited about in this role?
I am incredibly excited about putting the knowledge that I have acquired from my experiences into meaningful legislation that will change the landscape of health care in the state of Arkansas. When you know a policy area well, you can help identify what is missing and it allows you to push ideas that help shape an agenda and offer real solutions.
What advice would you give to young professionals hoping to pursue a career in government policy?
Don’t be discouraged if or when you feel like no one is engaging or reading your content. Use every opportunity you have as an investment in yourself. I came from the think tank world before going into government, and a think tank gives you an incredible opportunity for exposure to different types of media and topics to explore. But there were plenty of times where I felt like all the effort that I put into a project like a white paper, op-ed, or brief went unnoticed. However, I saw every media, paper, and candidate briefing as an opportunity to invest in myself and make myself better at communicating or writing. People will see your consistency and knowledge base as an asset, so take every opportunity you can to invest in yourself.
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