Nuntius Californiensis Volume XIII, Issue I Canta O Musa | Page 15

At the Nominations Committee Meeting (NomCom), I gave a two minute speech. Each state had sent two voting delegates to that meeting. There can be a maximum of two candidates per position, so if there are more than that, the voting delegates from each state vote on which two candidates they think should continue through the election.

There were three candidates for my position, so after all three of us gave a two minute speech, a ballot was passed out to the voting delegates, who then voted on which delegates should continue past NomCom. After my speech, I sat back down with the candidates and they announced who would continue. I was lucky enough to have been voted as one of the two candidates.

After NomCom, there was Meet the Candidates. For that event, all the candidates gathered in a big room, where they each stood in their own area. Meet the Candidates was a more laid back event, where students approached different candidates to converse with them. Delegates from all different states came; some of them had prepared questions and some came just to listen. After I spoke with lots of different people at Meet the Candidates, the next campaign event was to give a speech at general assembly.

Each candidate gets a total of 3 minutes, including a brief introduction from a friend. Athena Davis from Miramonte introduced me. These introductions are intended to highlight the candidate’s strengths from a different perspective.

After we spoke at general assembly, there was one final campaign event: candidate’s open forum. Just like at CJCL convention, candidates are asked questions which they answer on the spot. I was asked questions by Lynn Ahrens, the former NJCL CoCo. This event was the most nerve-wracking for me, as I was unable to prepare a speech because I didn’t know what they would ask me. At the end of open forum, the campaigning events had come to a conclusion and voting fellowship began.

Throughout the election process, I also spent most of my time walking around and meeting people, handing out posters and tags. That was my personal favorite part of the election process. I was able to make connections with people all throughout the state that will last a long time.

After they announced the new NJCL board, I was introduced to the other board members. For the last few months, I have been working with them and working on various tasks necessary for NJCL. Each of the seven board members are from different states, and it has been great getting to know such a diverse group. To any of you considering running for JCL office, whether it be local, state or national, I can’t stress enough how much of a rewarding and exciting process it is. Win or lose, running for office is a great experience that helps you make connections with lots of people.

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