Franny Eremeeva’s political journey started when she received an email from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign asking “Do you want to be a fellow?” She volunteered and interned on Clinton’s presidential campaign during her gap year in addition to traveling to East Africa with Adventures Cross Country and Italy with the American University of Rome. She went on to intern at the Council on Foreign Relations and for Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (heard of her?). Now, she’s about to graduate from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in international relations and a fire in her belly to change the world. In this episode of Gap Year Radio, Franny shares her wisdom for how to secure positions with election campaigns and cause-based organizations and how to make the most of them once you are there.
For more information and resources for how to get involved in Election 2020 as a young person, visit Election 2020 Gap Year.
Franny’s tasks during her work on Hillary Clinton’s campaign:
- Phone Banking
- Canvassing in urban and remote areas
- Setting up for events
- Lunch runs for staffers
- Making copies/admin work
- Ice Cream Captain (yes, actually a title)
How to get involved in an election campaign without any experience:
- Think about your personal values and what wakes you up in the morning. Craft a personal story about how you connect to the issue.
- Create a list of three of those things. Jot down your personal story.
- Research political candidates or organizations that resonate with you (eg climate justice, immigration, LGBTQ+ etc)
- Contact your local polittical party chapter
- NETWORK find ins with personal contacts, email contacts on websites etc
- Be persistent!!!
Franny’s Words of Wisdom
“If you have a positive attitude and say yes to every and any job you’re given and do those jobs really well, you are guaranteed lots and lots of opportunities.”
“You can and must ask for a meeting with every single person in the organization all the way up to the top…Those people will stay professional contacts for you as you continue in your professional journey.
Fight for something you believe in. “The change you believe in is the right change to be a part of.”
Don’t feel like you can’t do multiple things with your gap time – don’t feel pressured to the things that’s ‘best for humanity’ the entire time…the best thing to do for humanity is to do what’s best for yourself.
