When Maggie Lane, a senior at Auburn University, signed up to be a member of the Auburn Students for McCain group earlier this fall, she didn’t think she would be doing much more than attending meetings. That all changed when she got the chance to travel to Raleigh, N.C. the weekend before the election to campaign for Sen. John McCain.

On Thursday, Oct. 30, Lane drove to North Carolina, one of the battleground states for this year’s election, along with nine other Auburn students. They made the eight-hour trip in order to help out the Republican National Committee (RNC) in the last 72 hours of the campaign, which are sometimes the most crucial.

“I knew that this would be the opportunity of a lifetime, so there was no way I could pass up the chance,” said Lane. “I have gotten more interested in politics since this election, and I thought it would be a really cool experience.”

Lane said many students wanted to make the trip, but she got the opportunity because she signed up early. While in Raleigh, they campaigned with students from other universities and College Republicans chapters.

It wasn’t until the weekend before the trip that the students knew where they would be traveling to, however. They originally thought they would be campaigning in Florida, another battleground state, but the plans changed last minute.

When the students finally arrived in Raleigh, they were briefed by a member of the RNC about what they would be doing for the next four days.

Each day they were responsible for waving signs, door-knocking in different neighborhoods and working at the phone banks, Lane said. They were responsible for calling undecided voters in North Carolina, New Mexico and Colorado.

One of the days, the students drove in groups to Chapel Hill and Charlotte to distribute literature about McCain at different churches, while others made a trip to Winston-Salem to hold a tailgate on the campus of Wake Forest University.

“I didn’t realize how much of a difference the little things like phone banking make, but they really do,” said Lane. “Many of the people I called were so appreciative of the work we were doing.”

Lane said her favorite activity she got to participate in while campaigning was setting up for and attending a Sarah Palin rally. She was responsible for directing attendees and making sure all the stands were filled in. After her work was over, she was able to view the rally from the front row.

“I had no idea I would get to go to a rally, much less watch it from the very first row,” said Lane. “It was so exciting to see a rally in person instead of on television.”

Even though she spent many long hours campaigning on very little sleep, Lane said the entire experience was an incredible and unique opportunity that she will never forget.

“Not every college student is able to say that they participated in campaigning for one of the most historical elections in American history,” said Lane. “I feel pretty lucky that I was able to have this chance.”