Volunteer Voices: Giovi Hermansyah
As someone who had little canvassing experience before the Nevada trip, nervousness and anxiety were just two of many emotions that ran through my body.
My only previous experience was at the Kent International Festival a week prior, collecting signatures for city council redistricting. As we landed in Las Vegas, I was excited to explore a new city and engage in something I'd never done before. On our first day of canvassing, the nervousness began to set in. Throughout the trip, it was consistently hot with the sun out. The first day was exceptionally sweltering, forcing us to be driven from house to house. I had a great first team that made me feel accommodated and only pushed me to do what I was comfortable with. There were times when I was going to take the lead and talk to the resident, but every time that happened, no one was home; just my luck. It was unusual, as few people were home that first day. Our team may have had ten real encounters; the rest were Ring doorbells. The ring doorbells were consistent. Throughout the trip, I became more comfortable knocking on doors and talking to residents.
I took what I learned from the Action Academy retreat and how being put in uncomfortable situations makes you grow as a person. Knocking on someone's door and being in their own space epitomizes uncomfortableness.
Putting that aside, the trip itself was a fun experience, especially in a city such as Las Vegas. But the cause and the people working beside me made the trip memorable. Not every day can you meet 40 new people congregating from across the United States for a common cause. Before Common Power and Action Academy, I never thought I would do this work, not even in my wildest dreams. No organization like Common Power can mobilize people from different backgrounds and ages to do this work. This being my first fieldwork and canvassing trip was one of the challenges I faced. I didn't know what to expect other than what people told me. How do residents react to you knocking on their doors? What is expected of you while canvassing? These were just a few questions that lingered at the back of my mind.