“For the first time it felt good,” said Zachary Clemons, who voted. “I finally got to do something as an independent.”

Seth Warren, a social studies teacher at the high school, accompanied the 42 students to Halifax Community College, one of the early voting precincts in Halifax County. “We know voter advocacy is a big deal. Some feel like their vote doesn’t matter. We hope this leads them to a long history of voting throughout their life.”

Danija Gary said she wanted to vote so her candidates could “have my support.”

Asked if it felt good to cast a ballot for the first time, she said, “Yeah it did.”

In a time when high schoolers have been subjected to deep political criticism, Gary said she cares about issues. As far as the criticism, she said, “I don’t pay attention to it.”

Hannah Scardino voted for the first time, she said, because, “I feel like it’s important my voice is heard in the community.”

Students voting, she said, says plenty about her generation. “It says we can be informed and make educated decisions about what we want for our community, that even 18-year-olds can be informed.”

Amy Fromal said, “I really want to show other young people our voices really do matter.”

Fromal said the idea of voting was intimidating at first. Afterward, however, she found it wasn’t that bad. “After the fact it kind of made me happy. I really liked it.”