Anna Caballero for State Senate campaign
For my Service Learning site, I chose to help out on the State Senate campaign for Anna Caballero, a strong Democrat, current CA Assemblywoman, and former mayor of Salinas. For the past several years, I have found it important to be active in democracy and I have an interest in politics and campaigns. I figured this would be a spectacular opportunity to apply myself in this field and see if it was any particular interest for my future.
Working on this campaign actually helped me and my abilities to speak Spanish more than I expected it would. I found that every day, I would begin canvassing, slightly nervous about talking with voters in Spanish - after all, it's their native language and I know I don't speak it perfectly. But every single time I encountered a Spanish-speaking voter, they were always very patient and helpful, and were very kind. I specifically remember one husband and wife who I talked with: they were both language teachers and asked about my studies and my desired career. When I told them that I was considering a career in education, they gave me advice, recommendations on schools, and even offered to give contact information about a school in Mexico they both taught at. They suggested that if I have any more questions for them, to just drive to their house and talk to them any time. I don't remember their names or their address, but I admire their kindness and generosity. That alone made the entire day much better. (After all, I had just locked my keys in the car about 15 minutes before...)
I enjoyed this internship because it provided me with the opportunity to learn a lot more about Salinas and the culture that exists there. I got to talk with voters from all walks of life. One interesting thing that I noted while walking around the city is the attitudes of people. People in generally poorer areas of Salinas were more welcoming to canvassers and would carry conversation with us, especially in comparison to richer neighborhoods. Similarly, the younger voters of age 25 and younger always seemed to act more pleasantly and paid more attention to us as we promoted our campaign. The most exciting part for me was when I got to speak with younger voters, who were preparing to participate in their first election, midterm or presidential. It always made me smile to hear all the young adults talk about why they are planning to vote, and I enjoyed discussing it with them.
Here is a sample script that we would use to keep us on topic while talking with voters.
Working on this campaign actually helped me and my abilities to speak Spanish more than I expected it would. I found that every day, I would begin canvassing, slightly nervous about talking with voters in Spanish - after all, it's their native language and I know I don't speak it perfectly. But every single time I encountered a Spanish-speaking voter, they were always very patient and helpful, and were very kind. I specifically remember one husband and wife who I talked with: they were both language teachers and asked about my studies and my desired career. When I told them that I was considering a career in education, they gave me advice, recommendations on schools, and even offered to give contact information about a school in Mexico they both taught at. They suggested that if I have any more questions for them, to just drive to their house and talk to them any time. I don't remember their names or their address, but I admire their kindness and generosity. That alone made the entire day much better. (After all, I had just locked my keys in the car about 15 minutes before...)
I enjoyed this internship because it provided me with the opportunity to learn a lot more about Salinas and the culture that exists there. I got to talk with voters from all walks of life. One interesting thing that I noted while walking around the city is the attitudes of people. People in generally poorer areas of Salinas were more welcoming to canvassers and would carry conversation with us, especially in comparison to richer neighborhoods. Similarly, the younger voters of age 25 and younger always seemed to act more pleasantly and paid more attention to us as we promoted our campaign. The most exciting part for me was when I got to speak with younger voters, who were preparing to participate in their first election, midterm or presidential. It always made me smile to hear all the young adults talk about why they are planning to vote, and I enjoyed discussing it with them.
Here is a sample script that we would use to keep us on topic while talking with voters.
This is an example of one day's work, on the Saturday before the election. Green circles are houses and apartments for people who have not been contacted with the information of the day. Yellow circles are for voters who were not home, did not answer, or whose houses we could not access due to gates, dogs, etc. The red circles indicate the houses where we actually got to talk with voters - it's a lot of walking but not many people answer on weekends. In this case, my co-volunteer and I visited over 300 houses and apartments.
|
|
Click here to go back to my main page.