Congressman Wiley Nickel ’94 and America Adrift

Parker alum and U.S. Congressman Wiley Nickel ’94 Zoomed with Upper School History students to share more about his life and work in the America Adrift class.

America Adrift is a semester-long Upper School History elective that looks at recent American history to determine how our country has become so polarized and divided and answer the question, “Why does the United States seem to be adrift?”

Senior Benjamin Kagan introduced Nickel to his peers as a Congressman currently serving his first term representing the 13th district of North Carolina. After graduating from Parker, he received his BA in political science from Tulane University and later graduated from the Pepperdine University School of Law. Nickel currently serves on the House Financial Services Committee; the Capital Markets subcommittee; the National Security, Illicit Finance and International Finance Institutions subcommittee; and the Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion subcommittee. He is also a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus and many other groups. Prior to serving in the U.S. House, Nickel was a North Carolina State Senator for four years. He also has experience working for the Democratic National Committee and the White House.

Kagan commented, “I’m so glad that Congressman Nickel was able to speak to America Adrift. It’s incredibly motivating to hear from a Parker alum who’s truly making a difference in the world. His determination to build coalitions and work with both sides of the aisle is very admirable.”

Nickel was excited to virtually return to his alma mater and shared more about his life as a freshman Congressman who recently flipped one of six contested Republican seats in The House. “Voters had a real choice at the ballot box,” he said, “and they sent someone to Washington to protect a woman’s right to choose and do the things we need to do to work across the aisle and bring our country together.”

When asked about what had been going on recently with the speakership, Nickel offered, as a centrist Democrat, that this has always been a Republican fight, and there has been no attempt at bipartisan outreach and solutions. “I’m hopeful that we will get to a point where we will have Democrats and Republicans in the middle working together on the things we have to do for this country. We need solutions from the center.”

As a person who had voted 19 times for Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies (D-NY) as Speaker of the House during the prior weeks, Nickel remarked on the incredibly fragile nature of democracy. “It takes people willing to understand the issues, make their voices heard at the ballot box and invest and participate to have a functioning government. So, I work to build those relationships, and those are the things that I think are important.”

When asked what he perceived as the main causes of political polarization in our country currently, Nickel spoke about the concept of gerrymandering, noting that of the 345 members of Congress, only 10% of the seats aren’t foregone conclusions. “There is no motivation for folks to work together towards the center when all one cares about is their primary election.” 

Gerrymandering issues currently affect Nickel’s district—making it nearly impossible for him to win reelection to his seat in the next election cycle—and he related that he had been on the phone with his lawyers just that morning on the topic. “The courts will litigate, and we will see how the situation plays out,” he said, but the current situation in his district robs voters of any real choice at the ballot box.

Nickel was clear that Democrats shouldn’t follow suit and gerrymander when they can to sway outcomes. “We need nationwide independent districting reform. I’ve authored a bill to do this. The only way forward is to do this on a federal level so that everyone is playing on a level field.”

When asked what an average day in the life of a Congressman looks like, Nickel said that he starts each day at 6:30 a.m. in the gym, participating in a bipartisan cross fit class with other representatives. His days are full of meetings, committee hearings and votes on the floor, along with press conferences, receptions and constant work on issues, big and small.

Reflecting upon his experiences at Parker and how they shaped the person he is today, Nickel mentioned that he loved Morning Ex and it was always lots of fun. “I got a great education that taught me how to think about things in a great way and seriously consider questions about who you are, what you want to do with your life and how you want to serve your community… I got so much of that at Parker, service to your community, and I stuck with it. I worked in politics. I worked in Congress as an intern after Parker. You are all in a great place to focus on your education and the relationships you make at Parker, which will serve you well later in life.”

Parker thanks Congressman Nickel for taking the time from his busy schedule to provide this experience to students.

Click here to share in photos from the experience.