My Experience Organizing with Blue Future in 2020

By Anika Buder-Greenwood, Blue Future Fall for Progress and Change organizer

When I mention that I graduated in 2020, I am almost always met with a groan or a sympathetic yet simultaneously useless remark. Graduating from the school that I had attended for the last 12 years during a global pandemic was more than rough; not only did I lose Prom, Graduation, and all of the other things that cheesy high school movies make one overly excited for, but more importantly: I lost my sense of community that I had been a part of for so long.

My freshman year I signed up for 8 clubs; while most people do this and then drop out, I actually tried to attend all of them. I was also a part of the plays and multiple sports teams. I loved meeting the Upperclassmen and having them say “hi” to me in the halls — or just getting to know their names at least.

As I grew up, I dropped a few clubs and deepened my involvement in other things, but I was still a part of many circles and loved the community that these different spaces provided. In my Senior year, I was still taking the SATs, applying for college, navigating a sick family member and a move, all while still trying to juggle my classes and also my genuine interests: the candle was burning at both ends. Of course, I was looking forward to some sort of culmination and gratification –or slight recognition– for how hard I had worked over the years. But none came.

Right when I was finally expecting to get that sense of gratification that I had been waiting for (second semester), I, as well as the rest of the world, was smacked in the face. I was sick with COVID in March and didn’t even get to see what I now know was my last week of school ever. Feeling extremely alone and very down, I yearned for a community, something to do, and also a way to make a positive change amidst a world that was quite literally burning.

Thankfully, Sanda Balaban, the head of Next Generation Politics (one of the clubs I was a part of), introduced me to Blue Future. Since I’m deeply interested in politics and also the idea of empowering voices that aren’t always amplified (eg. women, POCs, and also young people in general) I decided to apply. While I was immersed in political conversations at this point, I had never actually phonebanked or organized before — I didn’t know what to expect.

“ What Blue Future provided was much more than simply teaching me to read from a script and phonebank; I was given all the tools to organize and I was also given a community. Those formerly boring quarantine nights turned into lengthy conversations with voters across the country about the importance of a reformed healthcare system. Those nights turned into beautifully put together presentations about landing a job, interview, or networking. Those nights turned into zooms with the other fellows at Blue Future, talking about the various things we were doing with our unstructured time. Those nights turned into lovely speeches by Nick Guthman and equally moving yet informative tips from Morgan.”

Even when I moved to Stuttgart for a month during my gap year this November, I was able to bring Blue Future and my volunteering work with me. Many more nights of calling voters across the country and helping them find their polling location, sign their ballots, get their friends to vote, and much, much more ensued. I had hundreds — maybe even thousands–of conversations, some voters even with wacky questions; I had a man in Wisconsin ask me if he gave me his credit card if I could send him some German Bratwurst.

My time no longer felt useless and unfulfilling; I was tapped into a community and finally making a difference. Blue Future reshaped the way I viewed the world– I could do something useful with my time while still safely staying at home in my own bedroom. I am extremely indebted to Blue Future for the community and organizing tools that they provided me with.

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About Anika: Anika Buder-Greenwood has been with Blue Future since August of 2020. She is currently on a gap year working as a ski instructor in California but she will attend Tufts University next year. Before that, she went to High School at the Packer Collegiate Institute and was involved in various political groups — including Next Generation Politics. She hopes to continue her involvement in politics and eventually run for some sort of office soon.