Energy, determination drive professional campaigner to complete her bachelor's en route to political arena

Fourteen-hour days aren't an issue when you love your job as much as Kelly Harlow does. Campaigning for a top Democratic presidential candidate, the 24-year-old describes her work as "not a job — it's your life." And Harlow says in no uncertain terms, "I love it!"

No stranger to politics, Harlow first campaigned for John Edwards' 2004 presidential run. Harlow also canvassed for the 2004 Alaska Senate race and the 2006 Rhode Island Senate race, as well as a Minnesota mayoral race and several smaller races.

"It's a great opportunity to travel," she says enthusiastically, "but also I feel it's helping the country because we're helping put people into office."

Harlow works "in the field" and is responsible for on-the-ground, grassroots efforts, such as organizing people and volunteers, getting the word out about her particular candidate and mobilizing voters at election time.

"The hours and hours of phone calls and door knocking are not necessarily glamorous, but it's still fun because you're making a difference, and the people you work with are so great," she says. "You kind of forget you're working that many hours and doing all that hard work."

To be successful means being outgoing and organized and "being able to talk to anybody at any time about anything," she says. "A lot of people don't want to call people randomly or knock on anyone's door."

Not only do campaign field reps have to know what they're talking about, Harlow says, but they openly should "believe in your candidate and the cause. Just like selling anything, you have to believe in what your're selling."

Because the campaign trail is so demanding, with necessary home-base moves about every six months, finding time for much else — including school — is a challege, according to Harlow. "You kind of go where the wind blows," she says.

Having started her degree on campus at the University of Missouri, Harlow decided to finish it with MU's online bachelor's completion program because the course work travels with her, she says. "If a job calls me, I'm not going to stay."

After one year, Harlow has completed Sociology of Aging, Social Justice and Social Policy, and Topics in Women's and Gender Studies — Humanities: Women in Popular Culture. She touts the flexibility an online program provides, and with only two years of courses to finish before graduaation, says she doesn't feel hurried or pressured to complete her studies at anyone's pace but her own.

"I like that I'm able to keep going to school and do whatever I want," she says.

Although she's seen many others get burned out by political canvassing, Harlow doesn't count herself among them and says she plans to land full-time in Washington someday.

"I really, really love campaigning," Harlow says. "A lot of people do it for one cycle and get out and move to D.C. or do something else because it's so crazy. But I think I'll always work in politics."

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