For Andrew Bates, a member of the College Democrats and director of the North Carolina division of Students for Barack Obama, the decision to become involved with Obama’s campaign was a natural one.

Bates said the opportunity to be around Obama in Washington immediately made him want to become involved with the national Obama campaign. A chance that led to Bates and two other N.C. State Democrats getting the chance to meet with Obama.

“I had a friend up in Washington, D.C., who had become involved with [Obama’s] campaign,” Bates said. “I went up there with the NCSU College Democrats, and I applied to be a part of the national campaign.”

Bates is not alone on the national committee — every officer from the North Carolina section of Students for Barack Obama is also a member of the College Democrats at NCSU. Bates was joined by Tara Ilsley, the president of College Democrats, and Nick Tosco, a member of College Democrats, in Charlotte on Friday morning for a closed-door fundraiser at the Charlotte City Club.

According to Bates, admission to the fundraiser was $1,000 per person, but the three students got in for free because they worked for the campaign. Bates said the three had the opportunity to speak with Obama for a short time.

“We didn’t have very long to speak with him, as he was very busy,” Bates said. “We spoke mostly about the proliferation of youth activism in the country today that hasn’t been seen since the Bobby Kennedy campaign. There is a burgeoning youth movement surrounding this campaign that you didn’t see with the recent campaigns like the Kerry and Clinton campaigns.”

Ilsley said the most impressive part of speaking with Obama was that it didn’t feel like the group was talking to a politician.

“When we were talking to him, he asked us all about where we went to school and what we’re studying,” Ilsley said. “He didn’t feel like this huge political force. He just felt like an average guy.”

Bates said he thinks that young people tend to react well to Obama because of his main platform positions as well as his personality.

“Young people react to Barack Obama because he represents the best chance we have for substantive change, not just superficial change,” Bates said. “He really is a fresh face. He’s inspirational, he’s honest and he really does have a commitment to helping others.”

Tosco noted that Obama’s public-speaking skill may have something to do with why he connects with people so well.

“He gave a very articulate speech,” Tosco said. “The event wasn’t open to the press, and there were only about 100 people there, so it felt very intimate. We were standing about 10 feet away from him during the speech, and it felt like he was talking directly to us.”