And while all the students appear to enjoy whatthey are doing, many said they miss the life in acollege dorm, which is luxurious by comparison.
Kara Callahan, 19, a sophomore politicalscience major at the University of Delaware, isspending this semester working on the Tsongascampaign.
Living for Politics
She says she will return to school in the fall.But in the meantime she is living in the Tsongascampaign apartment, a two-bedroom, two-bathroomflat within walking distance of the candidate'sManchester headquarters.
"There's usually five people staying there, butsometimes we have a lot of volunteers...maybe like12," Callahan said.
Though she said the accommodations "can bepretty rough," she added that most of her time isspent in the officer, not the apartment.
"I get [to the office] by about 7:30 or aquarter to eight, and I'm out by two [a.m.],"Callahan said.
'Clinton Hotel'
Not far from the Tsongas apartment stands the"Clinton Hotel," actually a converted collegedormitory with eight rooms. Strauss and severalother volunteers from offices around New Hampshirelive there, and the hotel's population fluctuatesas each weekend group enters and exits.
The housing situation is not the onlydifficulty faced by these students. Many arepaying their own way, and the amount of expensemoney that a few receive is very small.
"It's tough. It's really tough," said Strauss,who receives nothing for his volunteer work. "Wehave free pizza for dinner. [We] just try to eatas cheap as possible."
Callahan said that the Tsongas campaign alsosprings for occasional pizza, supplementing the$50 she said she receives weekly.
Though none of the student workers will becomewealthy from agree their efforts pay off in otherways.
'Intense'
"It's great. It's exciting. It's very intense,"Callahan said, adding that her several meetingswith Tsongas have made it all worthwhile.
"My main reason for coming up here is [the factthat] I love Paul Tsongas," Callahan said. "He'san incredible man."
And Strauss points out the potential for afuture in the Clinton campaign or, if all goeswell, the Clinton administration.
"There's always a possibility of being involvedon a national level," Strauss said