Democracy Summer officially began on Wednesday, May 27th when ten outstanding college students chosen from colleges across North Carolina arrived at Chestnut Ridge Camp & Retreat Center near Efland for a 3-day training retreat with Democracy North Carolina staff.
Democracy Summer training
By 10:00 AM, with everyone unpacked and moved into their cabins, student organizers introduced themselves to their colleagues and the training began. Student organizers were thoroughly grounded in Democracy NC’s mission and activities, then given an overview of NC politics. This was followed by intensive training in three of our most important program areas: Voter-Owned Elections, Voter Rights and the Voting Process and Grassroots Organizing. In between these modules, icebreaker exercises and public speaking challenges helped keep everyone energized.
After a group dinner and an evening of getting to know one another, the Class of 2009 headed to bed with lots of learning and lots of new opportunities ahead.
Training was awesome… we have a great group of student organizers this year. I was impressed by everyone’s energy and willingness to “lean into it.” Y’all did a great job with the public speaking challenges and were good sports throughout! Thanks for a great start to the summer!