Jim Rosica
Ask around about Nicholas Scher and you start hearing the same words over and over: “genuine,” “hard-working,” “committed.”
Though he’s now cracking the casebooks as a law student at St. Thomas University in South Florida, the 25-year-old has paid his political dues as Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera‘s personal assistant.
He was responsible for Lopez-Cantera’s daily briefings, having to research various policies, but also helped out as needed in the Executive Office of the Governor.
During the 2014 re-election campaign, a friend said she watched as “Nick drove up and down the state with little to no sleep, (yet) he seamlessly maintained his responsibilities and relationships in Florida politics, along with the challenges of being a part of one of the largest statewide campaigns.”
He also has volunteered with Capital City Youth Services, which has a youth shelter and non-residential counseling program in Tallahassee.
Here’s Scher in his own words:
I am … 25 years old.
I live in … Miami.
I got into politics … to serve my community. My family has always been involved in the community, and service is a value they instilled in me at a young age. I volunteered in my community for the first time at a very young age and saw that by speaking up and acting out in the right ways, how much good change you could potentially bring about.
One principle I always put above politics is … be willing to follow your path even through life’s curves. We often have a sense of direction, but seldom do we have any guidance. You must work hard to get to where you want in life, even as life attempts to push you off your path (and trust me it will). Mindset is everything. If you tell yourself you can get there, you have already done half the work.
Person or people who gave me my first shot … state Rep. Jose Felix Diaz and all of his staff. He is one of the greatest people I have ever met. As an intern in his office, he taught me how to research better, write better, and just be a better person.
I’ve already worked for/on (campaign, issues, etc.) … After being in Rep. Diaz’s office, I moved to Washington, D.C. for a summer where I interned for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. After that, I returned to Miami to help work on Rep. Diaz’s re-election campaign. That fall, I took a job as a deputy legislative aide in Sen. Charlie Dean’s office. In early 2014, I transitioned from the Senate to the governor’s office, where I had the pleasure of serving as Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera’s Special Assistant up until recently, when I decided to go to law school.
When I begin a project or first work on a campaign … I look for two things. The first is how I can maximize the ways in which I can contribute to the project or the campaign. As far as your abilities go, you always want to push the envelope. Second, I look to see how can I make myself and the campaign or project run as efficiently as possible, thereby maximizing the output given the resources you have.
I’ve been blessed to have these people as my mentors … Without a doubt, my parents. They instilled in me my work ethic and taught me how to act professionally at all times, no matter the circumstances.
The people I most admire in politics … are, truthfully, everyone I have ever worked with. It is those people that have pushed me to be the person I am today. Without them, I could not have come this far.
One lesson I’ve already learned is … you never run for any higher office to be somebody. You always run for office to do something good for your community, however big or small that goal or community might be. If you are doing something that you believe in to the best of your ability, the accolades will follow.
If I wasn’t working in politics … I’d be working in the restaurant business. I love to cook, entertain, and eat good food.
In 10 years, you’ll read about me … working somewhere in the legal field. I am currently in law school and while it is tough, I really like what I do.
