The average college student spending his or her winter break in Nevada may have indulged in gambling, the occasional all-you-can-eat buffet and even a quickie wedding in Las Vegas.

But for senior cell biology and molecular kinetics and economics major Daozhong Jin, her time spent in the state wasn’t dedicated to debauchery – it was committed to presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.

“I got to see a lot of the inner workings of the campaign,” said Jin, who learned of the internship position from a friend. “You do get a lot out of the experience; There are some great ups and downs. You obviously don’t want to lose, so it’s very competitive.”

Like Jin, a select few students and alumni are spending time on the political frontlines, volunteering with presidential hopefuls during the earliest primary elections.

Barack Obama, who has captured greater proportions of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 than his rivals did in Nevada and New Hampshire, has a particularly strong following on the campus.

Alex Rischard, an alumnus who graduated in December, is the Maryland state coordinator for Obama’s campaign. Rischard works with students across the state, building support for the candidate and organizing events in the Washington area.

“Student involvement has been skyrocketing,” Rischard said. “More than half of the state team is University of Maryland students. It’s been an easy job in the sense of getting people to volunteer.”

Eric Zoberman, another alumnus, spent the past seven months as a field organizer for Obama in Iowa. He’s now promoting the candidate in St. Louis before the Missouri primary next Tuesday.

The Republican showing might not be as strong among students, but Rob Roudik, a sophomore accounting and government and politics major, is the campus representative for Rudy Giuliani’s campaign. Roudik estimates there are approximately 10 to 12 other students on the campus similarly involved in supporting Giuliani, he said.

“Obviously, it’s going to be much harder to find students willing to get behind a Republican candidate,” Roudik said. “So we end up working together with groups at [George Washington University] and other schools in the area.”

While campaign volunteers aren’t paid, benefits included building contacts with high-placed public officials. But the biggest reason for students to get involved in a campaign is a strong support for a particular candidate, the volunteers said.

“It allows me to get elected a person I think will do an amazing job as president,” Rischard said. “It’s a very big personal reward, as well as a reward for the country.”

But full-fledged voter loyalty isn’t always the case with volunteers.

“Obviously I’m leaning toward voting for [Clinton] because I worked on her campaign,” Jin said, “but, I haven’t totally made up my mind.”

With Super Tuesday – the election day next week when 24 states will hold primaries or caucuses – looming, it’s not too late to pledge support for a candidate.

Republican hopeful Ron Paul has many student fans for his promises to end the war in Iraq, and his support of states’ rights to decide issues such as abortion, gay marriage and marijuana legalization. Steven Gaches, a junior government and politics major and a registered Democrat, is joining a regional coalition to help elect Paul.

“I will be able to take part in mailing lists and sending out e-mails,” Gaches said. “Members of the coalition are going out on Super Tuesday to campaign on the Metro system.”

The Student Government Association, along with the College Democrats and the College Republicans, is also doing its part to encourage students to vote in the upcoming primaries and general election. A joint program between the three organizations will send representatives from the groups to dorms, urging students to vote and encouraging them to bring friends. The dorm-storming campaign will even include dorm captains, who will rally other students on their floor to vote, said Jonathan Sachs, president of College Democrats and a sophomore government and politics major.

“People are going to do more with people that they know,” Sachs added. “We’re going to make this a Maryland tradition. This isn’t a one-time deal.”

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