This past semester, I had the pleasure to be a part of my campus’ voter registration campaign. Not only was it a legitimate campaign, but it also counted as a class. I was getting all the background of how previous voter registrations were conducted, as well as implementing those strategies in real time. I lived and breathed Vote Oswego because of how much I cared about getting more people involved with voting and becoming more knowledgeable myself. It was the most draining period of my college career and I absolutely loved every moment of it. During those 12 weeks, I learned several things along the way. Here are some of the big things I got out of being a part of Vote Oswego.
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Perseverance
During this time, I had to talk to all sorts of people. Many of them were either student who were uninformed about the midterm elections, or students who didn’t care about politics. It can easily get into your head that what you’re saying to them will not be retained. It might even seem like there’s no point at times, but if you truly care about a cause, you will get people to listen. This taught me that I can’t give up, despite the fact that the people around me may not have the same passion as I do.
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Increased my Attention to Details
For part of the campaign, we had people fill out their voter registration forms and absentee ballots. Over two thousand forms were received and we had to make sure they were all filled out correctly. Something as simple as putting your address on the wrong line or not checking what political party you are (yes, saying you’re not affiliated with a party still counts as an option) could cancel your ballot. People trusted us to handle their forms properly and to keep their information safe.
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Speaking Skills
Proper communication is essential to get messages across to people. We spent most of our campaign in the middle of campus so we could get the most out of the traffic going by. Talking to people effectively is crucial in making sure they understand the bigger picture of what Vote Oswego’s goals are without being too overwhelming. There had to be a balance of connecting to people while also informing them.
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Better Time Management
Even though all of my professors knew I was part of the campaign, they didn’t make the semester easy for me (not that I was expecting them to). I still had to set time aside for all my other classes, while working my job and committing hours to get students involved on campus. I admit, there were times where I was completely overwhelmed to the point of exhaustion. As I got used to the workload week by week, I was able to adapt and manage my time better.
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Being More Politically Savvy
Voting is the most powerful form of political participation in the United States. Political participation is valuable because it shows citizens contributing to the political process and expressing their thoughts on political issues. A single vote could be the catalyst to influence how a country is run. By this, it just means doing your research on who is running for your area and if their core values align with your own. The goal is to have people represent your ideas so you can be included in the bigger conversation. The lesson here is that it’s vital to be politically active.
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Resume Builder
Like every other ambitious college student, I joined my campaign with the incentive to include it as work experience. I knew being engaged in a voter registration campaign would be impressive to future employers. It shows that I’m capable of handling a lot of responsibility and samples my leadership skills. It’s a standout in any application and being able to talk about it rather than what’s on the paper makes any person look more attractive. It also helps validate all the hard work you put in!
Being a part of Vote Oswego is one of the best decisions I’ve made in college and I don’t regret a single moment of it. I’m glad I was able to take advantage of this moment, as it gave me an idea of a potential future career path!