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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (NewsNation) — It’s Finals Week at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and most students are posted up at coffee shops, the library and dorm rooms, poring over textbooks and PowerPoints. But a handful of students — runners recruited from the public relations, political science and media departments — have been getting a crash course in both production and politics.

“I got an email from my department chair offering that people were able to help out and I knew I had to jump on it,” said political science and public relations junior Jackie Bevil. “I’ve been following this presidential race since the beginning. So being able to be so close to the action and seeing how much work really goes into putting on a debate like this for the entire United States has really been informative to my experience — media and politics and how they go hand in hand.”

Freshman Sara Salazar also saw an email blast and was quick to act.

“I was so excited to hopefully be a part of something so much bigger than myself. I knew that there weren’t too many positions to fill so I jumped on it,” she said.

The pay is decent — $200 per day plus food and all the coffee you can drink — but for some, the experience is more valuable, even if it means juggling tests and other jobs.

“(The pay) is very nice but I mean, I would honestly do volunteer work for free just to be here and get this experience,” said Ayden Graham, an international relations major who had been trying to get a ticket to the debate when she learned about the gig from her friend.

After the COVID-19 pandemic sparked her interest in politics, Graham started getting involved in any way accessible to her. First, she worked on the campaign of a local candidate in Texas. Then, when she learned about the debate, she was keen on finding a way to be a part of it.

“I definitely prefer doing this over finals,” she said with a smile. “I got exempt from most of my classes through the Student Government Association.”

Most of the work has been standard intern work — moving tables, picking up packages and running errands — but with it has come a touch of glamor as the students have stood in for moderators and candidates during rehearsals and will act as “personal assistants” for the presidential candidates on the night of the debate.

“I think being able to stand in as a moderator really kind of boosted my confidence in public speaking since kind of all eyes were on me,” Bevil said. “I was able to stand in as one of my personal role models since I was younger — Miss Elizabeth Vargas. I was able to read her lines and get a feel for what it’s like to have that career.”

Tuesday evening, they even stood in for the candidates and faced the real moderators, Megyn Kelly, Elizabeth Vargas and Eliana Johnson while mics were tested and camera shots were lined up. Tony Cortes, a media major, stood in for Vivek Ramaswamy and fielded questions from Kelly on the intricacies of Alabama football.

“She seemed like a cool person. I liked talking to her,” said Cortes of the on-stage interaction. “You can tell she knows what she’s doing,” he added.

But while the job has been rewarding, the true highlights for the runners have come Wednesday.

Graham, political science and media major Jenna Daniel and Mckenzie Knight, a sophomore public relations and English major, sat in for the moderators as former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley toured the debate stage Wednesday afternoon ahead of the showdown.

“They say to never meet your heroes but that was really fun,” Daniel said minutes after she met the former South Carolina governor.

“It was so refreshing to have someone treat you like a person,” said Graham. “Someone with that much power who has so much influence over my life — it inspired me to pursue ambassadorship and her words of advice to always shoot for the stars was empowering and boosted my confidence.”

The experience so far has been transformative, sparking new interests in some and reinforcing existing passions in others.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first applied for this mostly because I didn’t really expect to get it,” Knight said. “And also just because I had never really considered like looking at production or like, broadcast or anything like that. So it’s made me have yet another career crisis.”

Meanwhile, for Bevil, it’s emphasized her desire to go into politics post-graduation.

“I have had a passion for politics since I was in first grade,” she said, “When I was in first grade. I told my whole class, I wanted to be the first female president. So I am just absolutely thrilled to be able to study this and be able to do something I love for the rest of my life.”