Looking back at her role in getting  Barack Obama elected, Brianna Hargrove wonders what she didn't do.

The freshman history major knocked on people’s doors. Made cold calls. Registered voters. Entered data.

“I can’t even describe it in words,” she said of having played a role in Obama’s win.

“I have a story to tell my children. It’s a great feeling knowing that I had something to do with it other than ‘I just voted for Obama.’”

Volunteers like Hargrove played a significant role in Obama’s win. Grassroots efforts on college campuses across the country helped sign up thousands of new voters.

Mike Deweese-Frank/Campus Echo

Top: Januari McKay, A.J. Donaldson, Brianna Hargrove, Dwayne Johnson; bottom: Breylon Smith, Matthew King

At N.C. Central University, students from the Student Government Association, the NAACP. and the Civic Engagement Taskforce, among other student groups, helped register about 3,000 new voters at NCCU’s voting precinct 55-49, which ranked fourth in One-Stop early voters in Durham County.

The precinct had the second highest voter turnout on election day in Durham county.

“Going around to dorms on that day, telling them what was happening with the election made them feel like their vote did count,” said Januari McKay, sociology senior.

Students also used tools common to their everyday lives, such as Facebook and text messaging, to get people to the polls.

“We used today’s tools to our advantage,” said A.J. Donaldson, a history graduate student.

“Nothing was more important than this movement for change in politics,” he said.

“Getting people to vote wasn’t just about Obama. Student volunteers also learned about accountability, organization, responsibility and sacrifice — tools they can use in the real world.”

Sophomore class president Dwayne Johnson said mobilizing for the election helped students realize the power they have.

“I think this movement helped lots of young people everywhere realize their impact,” he said.

“It got rid of that stigma that young people are apathetic.”

Hargrove, a history freshman, had two reasons for being involved in the Obama campaign: community service is part of her scholarship requirement and she wanted to make her family proud.

Hargrove, who grew up in Georgia, said her grandmother taught her about black history beyond the well-known figures.

As an Obama volunteer, Hargrove believes she was part of a movement for change, similar to the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Hargrove said her grandmother wanted to cry when she told of her campaign involvement.

Inside a folder of her accomplishments that her grandmother shows to others, is a picture of Hargrove shaking Obama’s hand during a campaign stop in Charlotte in September.

“My duty is to make them proud,” she said of her family.

“I’ve already done so by going off to college and furthering my education. I figured that I might as well help out more by getting an African-American elected.”

Mark Scott writes for the Campus Echo, the North Carolina Central University student newspaper, which originally published this article.