HOW TO PREPARE- MATERIALS
Physical materials: I printed about 50 very simple flyers, containing just a picture of me, my name, and a QR code to my website. Initially, I planned to hang these up around campus, but, given the lack of bulletin boards in high-traffic spaces, I opted to hand out the flyers instead. Furthermore, I made a couple of posters for MTC with a picture of me, my qualifications, and campaign ideas. Finally, my brother helped me make several memes which I printed out and put on my last two posters. Digital materials: Besides the flyers, which I made through Canva, I also made a campaign website. I used Google Sites to make it and copied a very old website design I had made, with some changes to better suit my campaign. I kept my website very simple, overall, again, just focusing on who I am, my platform, and my experience going in. The speech: Once I knew my ideas, I began drafting my speech. The format I used was quite simple. I, first, introduced myself and officer-relevant qualifications. Then, I explained what I wanted to accomplish as NJCL Parli. Beforehand, I looked up how many words the average person could speak in three minutes to help me with speech length, but I also practiced saying it out loud several times and timing myself then. Finally, don’ t hesitate to put some of your personality in the speech! If you’ re funny, tell everyone a joke. If you’ re creative, draw a metaphor. These aren’ t required, of course, and should be treated as supplemental to your main content, but they can definitely help your speech stand out among the sea of other candidates.
CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS
Campaigning at Nationals: At Nationals, I prioritized competitions like Certamen or tests over campaigning. Sure, I still went to the election events, but my advertising happened during Certamen score checks, rather than at the agora. When free, though, I tried to talk to anyone interested in listening and, especially, befriend the other candidates, as they can vouch for you to( at least) six other state delegations. I also( jokingly) appointed my brother and one of my friends as my“ campaign managers” and they helped spread my name at their election events. Favorite part of campaigning: My favorite part of campaigning was how kind and how much support I received from JCLers from all states. Sure, the Great Miami University Billboard Scavenger Hunt To Hang Up My Flyers was fun, and I enjoyed winning the election( who doesn’ t?), but the best part of it was interacting with JCLers, hearing their perspectives, and trying to win over their support. What you did well: One thing I did well that cannot be understated is building a good relationship, especially with those from other states, before one even plans to run. For me, that was through Certamen. Ideally, you should also have an“ in” with people from other states like being very competitive and respected in some events, being a social person, or simply by participating in as many activities as you can. What you could have improved: I should have relied upon those in my state more. I placed much of the burden of my campaign on myself, and I should have realized that there are people in Texas who can help me hand out flyers, carry around posters, or just spread my name around. If I were re-doing my campaign, I would coordinate with the TSJCL officers and others who just wanted to help!