Three Penn State freshmen have taken their interest in politics further than most college students have.

Justin Houser (freshman-political science) and James Stewart (freshman-computer science) have already attended their first Bellefonte Area School District board meeting as its newest and youngest members.

Houser and Stewart are two of nine board members.

T.J. Strouse (freshman-international politics and economics) is starting to organize his ideas before he is sworn in as Benner Township auditor at the end of January.

The three are all Bellefonte Area High School graduates, and they were unaware that anyone else their age or from the Bellefonte senior class was running.

Stewart said his decision to run for school board director was sparked by his involvement as a student in the district.

"Being a passive observer for years interested me to see what the other side was like and how my ideas could be heard," Stewart said. "I just came across the right time to run."

Stewart said no one was on the ballot for his seat in the primary election, so he started a write-in campaign to be nominated.

He stood at polls during the primary and handed out stickers for write-in votes.

Stewart received 200 votes. He will finish a two-year term and said he does not think he will run again.

"I think maybe after college I would consider running again, but not now," he said.

His family and friends were very supportive of his decision to run and also helped in handing out stickers for his write-in votes.

Stewart, who also works at CVS in Bellefonte, said the job, which is unpaid, is manageable with his schoolwork.

"I really just try to be prepared for the meetings and read up on the material that we go over," he said.

Houser took a similar path after making his decision to run for his four-year term as school board director. Houser got a petition and collected the 10 necessary signatures for his name to be put on the ballot. Houser formed a political committee, even though it was an uncontested election.

Houser, who has enjoyed politics since a young age, also held the position of student representative on the Bellefonte High student government.

"I received a better understanding of how things work and what I could do to make a difference," he said.

Houser said he enjoys the meetings, which are held two Tuesdays every month. He said he will work to discuss and go over different policies and the budget.

Houser said he keeps on top of his job by checking his e-mail about 10 times a day.

"It can be pretty intense at times, but that is what I like about it," he said.

He said he plans to remain active in some form of government after his term is over and is looking to attend law school or enter the ministry after graduation. "I just feel confident about my term, especially since the voters trusted in me to do this," he said.

Strouse, who said he has always been interested in looking into politics more seriously, is starting his six-year term as auditor of Benner Township. His duties include attending meetings, in which he will assess and set wages for the township supervisor. He also reviews the township budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

"I really actually found out about the position in my social studies class and then did my own research on it," he said.

Strouse, who plans to attend graduate or law school after finishing at Penn State, said his family was very supportive of his decision -- yet others had some questions.

"I think people doubted all of who ran right out of high school," he said. "I think it took everyone a while to realize what we can do."