Craig Romney visits Liberty for Q-and-A with government students

Craig Romney, son of Republican presidential nominee Gov. Mitt Romney, participated in a Q-and-A session with about 100 Liberty University Helms School of Government students Thursday afternoon.

Romney studied communications at Brigham Young University and currently works in real estate in San Diego, Calif.

Questions ranged from his views on the United States’ support of Israel, hot topics in the 2012 presidential election, the impact of the Hispanic community, the importance of a value system and faith for political leaders, and the importance of civic duty as college students begin a career in government.

“I am not an expert by any means, but I think one of the greatest pieces of advice about civic duty was given by my grandfather. He said to ‘never get into politics if you needed to depend on it for your livelihood. Get into politics if you want to serve your country and if you want to make a difference, but don’t make that your career.’ ”

He also shared a few anecdotes about his family and lessons he learned from his father.

“My father taught me to love this country, to never forget the sacrifices that were made here and to enjoy the freedoms we have, and that first and foremost our rights and privileges come from God,” Romney said.

He shared a story about his father’s efforts in helping one of his employees find his missing daughter in New York City. He said that after the employee had approached his father about the situation, he dropped everything he was doing and did a citywide search to find her, getting local businesses and news media involved. The girl was found in New Jersey suffering from drug overdose and was rushed to the hospital but was saved.

“My dad has achieved some tremendous things in his career,” Romney said. “People point to some of his successes in business, in politics, in the Olympics. But I think some of his greatest successes are the things people know least about.”

Helms School of Government Dean Shawn Akers said two visits from the Romney family this year (Gov. Mitt Romney was Liberty’s Commencement speaker in May) “says a lot about our students.”

“It says that Liberty University is one of the most relevant campuses in the United States, that our students matter, that their opinions matter, that the opportunity to meet them, visit with them and hear their thoughts matters.”