Reporter Notebooks

Last evening I spent nearly five hours inside the Xcel Center. While there were multiple speakers, it was former New York mayor and former Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani whom I would most like to meet. He was funny, honest and persuasive.

Entering the Xcel Center on Sept. 3, I could sense the excitement building inside the massive 650,000-square-foot stadium as thousands waited for the greatest show on Earth, or at least the greatest show in St. Paul, Minn.

Ari Siesser has always had a burning passion for politics, but he has become even more inspired to act as the country’s economic situation deteriorates. “According to research I read, it looks like it’s going to exceed everyone’s worst nightmares,” he said. For the past two years, Ari has been involved in Young Democrats of Georgia, the state's official youth arm of the Democratic Party. Its members strive to benefit their communities by working within the political process.

In Mississippi, the summer of 1963 was a violent one — 30 black homes and 37 black churches were firebombed, and more than 80 civic activists were beaten. The following summer, about 40 Freedom Schools were opened, dedicated to creating "an educational experience for students which will make it possible for them to challenge the myths of our society, to perceive more clearly its realities, and to find alternatives — ultimately new directions for action," in the words of founder Charles Cobb. Though the program floundered through the years, it was reborn in 1992 with the support of the Children's Defense Fund.

Four years ago, Ava Lowery was frustrated. She felt that just speaking out against the war in Iraq wasn't enough and decided to combine her love of video, journalism and politics and start a Web site, www.peacetakescourage.com.

Zach Ammerman has always enjoyed politics. Now, after working on Hillary Clinton's campaign, he hopes to make a career out of it.

Amanda Randall has been involved in politics since age 13. For five of those years she's been active in the Teen Age Republicans, a group affiliated with the Republican Party that is dedicated to getting young people involved in the political process. She has held several positions in TARS, most recently as state chair, where she's been in charge of recruiting and leadership.

Peter Christensen, 17, and his brother Alex, 14, are from Escalante, Utah, a town of 818, according to the last census. While the boys enjoy outdoors activities such as fishing and hiking, they are both officers in the Garfield County Teen Age Republicans, a local chapter of the national TARs program.

In DeKalb County, Democratic incumbent Harold Bobo was going unchallenged in the 2008 school board primary. Sterlin Pendergrass stepped up to make sure everyone’s voice was heard.

Dedicating hours to student voter registration, promoting youth involvement in politics, and all the while campaigning for John Parker for Montana attorney general and for herself as a precinct committeewoman, Caitie Boland is the epitome of youth political activism.

Despite living in Michigan's remote Upper Peninsula, Pryce Hadley has been able to maintain a high level of political activism. At Marquette Senior High School, from which he just graduated, he participated in "We the People," a nationwide competition in which students answer questions about U.S. government posed by government experts.

Molly Kawahata takes the term "campaign worker" to a whole new level. The high school senior rearranged her school schedule to have an earlier release in order to have more time to work as the national high school director for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Anyone who knew Heidi Bentley wouldn’t have guessed that she could play a significant role in a campaign to elect Tom Parker to the Alabama Supreme Court. Even the twins, Alex and Brett Harris, who delegated the tasks to her didn’t know exactly who Heidi was. They thought she was her 24-year-old sister.

Four years ago, Conor Rogers saw a need for political volunteers and created the New Jersey Teenage Republican Organization (www.njtars.org) to mobilize young people. Though it started out as a school club, it expanded to serve the county and then the state.

Jennifer Jones has been politically active since she was a high school freshman. Since then, she has worked passionately for the Democratic Party. She sees no problem with continuing her activism after high school, as she will be attending American University in Washington, D.C., in the fall.

Rachel Briggs is a youth volunteer for the Obama campaign in Honolulu, HI. Organizing supporters’ contact information, working at fund-raising events, and starting a student chapter in her district are some of Rachel’s accomplishments.

Jack Boeglin has been following Barack Obama since his speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. After doing some research, he decided to start a chapter of Students For Barack Obama at his high school.

It took a while, but the Blunt Youth Radio Project has helped Gavin Bauer find his voice.

Upon graduating from Coronado High School, Shaina Soloman will have more notches on her political belt than many adults. A highly motivated Democrat, Shaina has started a Young Democrats chapter, served as a caucus delegate, volunteered for numerous campaigns and is completing a paid internship with the state Democratic Party.

Megan Waggoner’s first love is the environment. She is active in Alaska Youth for Environmental Action and traveled to Washington, D.C., last year to attend the President’s Environmental Youth Awards ceremony, which recognized her group for its environmental activism.