Primary Day is finally here!

After our very late night, we went to the office and got ready to canvass. The most important thing is to make sure voters know where they're supposed to be working and have the information necessary to cast their ballot. Dr. Cornel West kicked off canvassing in our office! It was an absolute pleasure meeting him.

After canvassing, we went to Bernie's Victory Rally to help the set-up and volunteer for the event. We had the pleasure of seeing a lot of people we had worked with for the entire trip, and were able to share our enthusiasm and pride of the hard work done in the Granite state. We exchanged numbers and made sure we would stay in touch in the future! 

We had the opportunity to listen to the Senator (again!) and hear him announce his victory in the New Hampshire primary!!! It was absolutely the most rewarding sentence I have ever heard. Our commitment and dedication was rewarded by a win in the FITN 2020 presidential primary and the chance to hear him declare that live. I will never forget this amazing experience and everything it has taught me. 

Here are some pictures to commemorate this amazing night! 

Last Bernie event in New Hampshire!

Senator Bernie Sanders announcing his win!

Today is Monday, the day before the First in the Nation Presidential Primaries of 2020!

We started our day bright and early to volunteer at our first event of the day: Breakfast with Bernie. As soon as we reached the venue we started to work, setting up the chairs, tables, press area, and food that would be served at the event. We helped check-in and general public seating, which is when one advance team members asked if I wanted to stand behind the Senator during the event! I was very excited by the opportunity and ability to cheer on Bernie for our first event of the day. We listened to two of Bernie's surrogates: Ben and Jerry (yes, the ice cream duo!).

After the Senator spoke to the public, I had the opportunity to meet him! We had a brief conversation and shook hands before he went on to the rest of the people that wanted to meet him as well. It was such an amazing experience and I will never forget it! He was incredibly inspiring and you can feel his passion and dedication in his voice.

Ben & Jerry!

Trevor Martindale and I meeting Senator Sanders!

USF Bernie Team at the podium where he spoke!

Myself practicing Bernie's speech (in case he ever needs me to substitute him)!

After the event, we went to the University of New Hampshire Durham campus for the GOTV rally with The Strokes! He also had Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Rep. Nina Turner, and Dr. Cornel West speak. I don't believe any other candidate has the power to turn a political rally into a rock concert where college students both hear the message and get to enjoy themselves after. It was the biggest event held by any Democratic candidate this primary year!

Left: Senator Sanders and Rep. Ocasio Cortez embrace

Right: The Strokes take on the stage after Senator Sanders 

After hearing Bernie speak four times during the course of our trip, I am memorizing his speech and might be able to give it myself (with one or two more practices!).

On Sunday we went to the office and helped the field organizers prepare more than one hundred volunteers to go out to canvass and GOTV! This meant that we placed all of the necessary materials in the clipboards, instructed the large number of people in the office to organize into 'stations' to receive their turf number, prepared literature packets and warmers (very important)! After the morning rush of volunteers, we prepared more clipboards and literature packets for the expected afternoon rush, phone-banked and made a lot confirmation calls for volunteers.

I really appreciate the ability to phone-bank, since most people had a minute of their time to give us and I had very nice conversations. I addressed some concerns of voters, we related on topics such as the incredible cold outside, sport teams and even discussed Bernie's height (he's much taller than I expected!).

Caitlin Crowley and I ended our day in the office by canvassing and were even caught in a snowfall! It was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed having the chance to walk around in such beautiful weather.

Myself, in about four layers of clothing, covered in fresh snow! 

Saturday was met with excitement to see the Democratic presidential candidates at the 2020 McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Event! We picked up our tickets and saw almost everyone we had met throughout the three field offices, walked towards the large venue and sat in the Bernie section. It was amazing to see the hard work we put into the signs on our first day be shared by everyone in the crowd. We had the opportunity to listen to the candidates and cheer very loudly when Bernie came out! Showing support and being surrounded by such nice people who had also taken their time to support Senator Sanders is amazing.

The signs we made on our first day!

We were holding the letters (Peyton Johnson and I can be seen below the second "E")!

A couple of students in our group were interviewed during debate visibility outside of Saint Anselm! I was interviewed by the student paper in New York University and the New Hampshire NPR.

https://pavementpieces.com/new-hampshires-gen-z-voters-focus-on-issues/

Almost got the university's name right! 

Finally! Today is Debate Day! After working working at the office on phone banking and making signs promoting future events, we went back to Saint Anselm College. Although, this time we did not get to enjoy the warmth or beautiful facilities inside. We were holding Bernie 2020 signs outside, chanting and trying to move to invoke some sense of warmth in our bodies. I do not think I had never been this cold in my life. Experiencing adverse weather definitely brought us all closer together and left a sense of purpose for the rest of the trip.

It is in my humble opinion that we had the best chants out of the campaigns represented (It's cold but I'm feeling the Bern!). We definitely deserved the honorary title of best chants!

This is a day we will never forget!

Thursday started by the group waking up to a lot of snow! Many students in the group had never experienced snow and it was very nice to go through a snow day together.

Our first stop of the day was at Saint Anselm College, where we received a tour of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics building by the Executive Director Neil Levesque. Saint Anselm college is known for its many debates and related events it has hosted and their Institute of Politics curriculum.

After the tour of the Institute of Politics, the group separated and we went to the field office and started our work day by canvassing in the snow! The houses we were supposed to contact were very far apart this time, which meant that we had the opportunity to explore the beautiful neighborhood and speak to people who were out jogging, walking their dogs or shoveling their driveway. It was incredibly beautiful outside and since it was a snow day for most schools in the state, we had the chance to speak to a large number of wonderful people who were interested in our message and had concerns about the candidate's platform and experience. 

Pictured on the right: the best canvassing partner Caitlin Crowley!