FEATURES
The Future Junior Rajitha Velakaturi uses her free time to campaign for various political candidates in the upcoming presidential and congressional elections. STORY, PHOTO AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY EDITORIAL EDITOR MAGGIE MCKINNEY
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s she settles into her fold-out plastic chair at the campaign office, junior Rajitha Velakaturi opens her laptop and prepares herself for a day of doing a job not many people expect a teenager to do: calling voters on behalf of a presidential candidate. She opens up the call list, punches the assigned number into her phone and lets the dial tone ring. Velakaturi is a volunteer for Pete Buttigieg’s campaign for president. Previously, she also worked on campaigns for Congresswoman Sharice Davids, former congressional candidate Jay Sidie and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. “I was really affected by the 2016 presidential election, and I didn’t want to stand idly by. I wanted to make an impact somehow,” Velakaturi said. “So I went on to the websites for a bunch of politicians I agreed with and signed up to volunteer.” Velakaturi’s interest in politics began in seventh grade, when her and her mother, Madhuri Vadlamudi, attended a meet-andgreet near their home for several elected officials. Velakaturi then heard about an event with one
(Photos by Maggie McKinney)
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candidate at a nearby café. “I hung out at the coffee shop during the event, and I learned about what a politician really does and why it’s important,” Velakaturi said. “After talking to these different candidates and learning why they wanted to run for office, it stuck with me and made me want to get involved.” While at the campaign office, Velakaturi does a variety of tasks for the campaign she is working on. She frequently “phone-banks” or “text-banks,” which is calling or texting people from a collection of registered voters or interested volunteers in the area to ask them to vote, volunteer, attend an event or other campaign-related requests. “I usually open my computer and log on to the different websites we use for phone-banking and just start calling people and hope someone picks up the phone,” Velakaturi said. “You’re lucky if you get an answer, especially a good one.” Her campaign work has not always been easy. Velakaturi has experienced discouraging calls and disappointing election results over the years. She always tries to stay positive while campaigning. “She’s always so positive no matter what the circumstances are,” Blue Valley Southwest High School senior and Davids’ campaign volunteer Reed Krewson said, “which is an increasingly important trait in a world where there is so much hate and negativity.” Despite the many obstacles and discouragements, Velakaturi continues to work for campaigns because she believes in the value
