Jilllian Beaudry

Editor in chief 

She was the youngest precinct captain by about 30 years. Her nerves were on edge, but her energy was high as she organized her group.

She needed 27 people total for her candidate, Democrat Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, to get a delegate that would get him closer to the White House.

She only had 24.

She worked the crowd, trying as hard as she could to convince people to join her cause to support the governor.

“Are you even old enough to vote?” one undecided asked her.

Her frustration mounted.

“It was really intimidating to get 50 to 60-year-old people (into) your group,” she said.

In the end, the youngest precinct captain for a presidential candidate pulled through at the Iowa caucus, getting Richardson the delegate, and sending him on to the debate in New Hampshire.

Freshman Dulce Kersting said she became interested in politics after Sept. 11, which got her thinking about how to handle problems and what is politically right and wrong.

From her hometown of Ames, Iowa, Kersting has loved the advantage she has residing in one of the most influential states in the country. She enjoys getting to know the candidates better than others and seeing them in person.

“It’s not just snippets we see on CNN,” she said.

Kersting said she sees Richardson as the most qualified candidate because he has been involved in many facets of government, such as serving as a U.S. congressman, U.N. ambassador and helping return remains of Vietnam soldiers to the U.S., to name a few. He is also bilingual, which she said she thinks is important in our country today.

She first learned of Richardson when he declared his intent to run last year and ran comedic commercials on TV that got her attention. He was straightforward and did not slam other candidates, she said.

Interested in helping out her favorite candidate, she contacted the national campaign and it offered her a place as a student intern, if she could bring 10 other students with her. Even though she couldn’t find any, she became a volunteer on Dec. 17 until Jan. 3, making posters, staffing events, calling voters and distributing door hangers.

She said the highlight of her time was acting as captain of her precinct during the caucus, but she disliked making phone calls. Residents in Iowa were getting calls from candidates two to three times each week and they became sick of it.

Because of a lack of money and support, second-tier candidate Richardson dropped out of the presidential race Jan. 10 after finishing fourth in the New Hampshire primary. Kersting doesn’t know if she will vote for Senators Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, and hopes Richardson can be taken on as a vice presidential candidate.

“If one of them could pick (Richardson) up as vice president, I would be all about it,” she said.

Kersting said she doesn’t consider her time wasted and wishes she could have done more to help.

After her experience, she said she simply wants to encourage students to vote.

“This will be one of the most influential elections in decades,” she said.