As a teenager, Beth Foster has had an ongoing interest in politics. In 2005, she worked on the governor’s campaign in Virginia, and then in 2006, she helped out in a congressional campaign.

Last year, she moved to the national arena. She joined the Barack Obama campaign and spent her summer in New Hampshire helping to set up the “ground operation” and knocking on doors and making calls. She returned during winter break, as campaigning became intense. “It was so close, it was voter contact all the time. We talked to voters all day, doing calls all day, canvassing all day. So, it was a crazy experience, but a great experience.” She’s also campaigned for Obama in Connecticut and Virginia.

Are you still helping out with the campaign?

Because I’m a senior in high school, I had to come back to school. If Senator Obama does get the nomination, I plan on doing stuff this summer and maybe taking a semester off of school to work for him on the general election.

What do you consider your biggest success as a campaigner?

If you look at the numbers, the wins in Connecticut and Virginia would be I guess the biggest success. I think personally working in New Hampshire was, even though we lost by two percentage points. I put so much time into New Hampshire. The towns that I actually worked in, we won those towns. We didn’t win the whole state, but we won those towns. And so for me personally, I think that was my biggest success.

Why are you involved?

I probably would’ve worked in some capacity on the election for some candidate, but probably not have been as involved had it not been for Senator Obama. I heard him speak — it was almost exactly a year ago — last February in Virginia, and I was so impressed by what he had to say and I really believed in his message. It was one of those things where I felt I had to do something to get him elected.

What advice would you give to other students who want to get politically involved?

When I first started, I was 14. It can seem so intimidating. You think, “I’m so dumb. What difference can I make?” But it makes such a huge difference, and you can do so much even as a 14-, 15-, 16- or 17-year-old. Youth is the driving force behind a lot of campaigns. Young people can do a lot of things that people who are older can’t, just by working hard.

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