HOW TO PREPARE- MATERIALS
Physical materials: I made some pretty simple flyers with help from my sister and some friends with basic information and a link to my website. I didn’ t get a chance to put them up but they were definitely good for handing out. I also made a trifold for Meet The Candidates, as people usually do, with some basic art supplies and help from my roommate once we got to convention. My favorite part was my poster board, which I did my part of very quickly at home, but then spent the entire week asking other people to help decorate with stars and their favorite things about the JCL. Digital materials: I made a campaign Instagram account, which I honestly didn’ t really use— I think it would be more useful for positions that rely on graphic design or photography related things, but I didn’ t have much to post. I also made a website in Canva, which I started before convention and finished while there. It was super plain, but it allowed me to get my platform across simply, and I had prior experience working with Canva for other things. The speech: It didn’ t take super long to write my campaign speech, since it was mostly based on the platform I knew well but I kept editing it until basically the minute I got onstage, which I don’ t think was my best idea. I kept the structure simple: I introduced myself and my JCL experience, then laid out the framework( acronym) for my campaign, then went down that list in order. I just tried to present myself and my platform authentically, and hope that other JCLers would like what I was suggesting. I’ m not fond of public speaking, so I aimed to keep it simple and stick to what I knew.
CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS
Campaigning at Nationals: Most of my campaigning came in the form of my poster board! Anywhere I went, I took it with me and asked people to write their favorite thing about the NJCL in exchange for a lollipop. This gave me a chance to introduce myself as they wrote, gave people incentive to stop and chat, and put my name and the position I was running for right in front of their faces. I think that definitely helped get my name out, and I got to meet so many awesome JCLers while doing it! I also had a few members of my state go around, handing out flyers and mentioning my name at our Agora table. They were overall a big support throughout the process, definitely lean on your state for help while campaigning, it’ ll make it much more fun. Favorite part of campaigning: My favorite part of campaigning was definitely meeting everyone! I loved learning what everyone’ s favorite parts of the NJCL were, the responses were so wideranging and silly but they all rang true. I still have my poster board in my room! I honestly couldn’ t name a single best moment, it was all so amazing, but I will say that getting recognized on campus and having people just come up to chat absolutely made my convention that much better. What you did well: I think I did a pretty good job connecting with people! Campaigning is such a good excuse to talk to people you might not have met otherwise, and I tried to make the most of it. Just chatting with people is, I think, the best way to get yourself out there— and handing out candy certainly won’ t hurt! What you could have improved: I do wish that I had started creating campaign materials sooner, so right before nationals was less of a crunch time. Give yourself some wiggle room, you’ ll be more confident in what you create!