High school freshman Jordan Shelton can't vote.
But Shelton, 14, said he wants to work on Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
Obama has the power to make positive changes in the U.S., he said.
"He's the first African-American running for president, and this is a historical event for that," he said. "I want to be able to say in the future that I helped him win."
Shelton was a volunteer at an economic summit hosted by Obama on Friday at the Kiva Auditorium.
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Supporters waited outside the Convention Center for hours before they entered the Kiva
Auditorium, filling two over-flow rooms and leaving 1,000 people waiting outside.
Obama said 2007 showed the slowest amount of economic growth in five years.
"We've got some problems that are mounting," he said. "But long before this concern met Wall Street and Washington, it hit the kitchen tables of Albuquerque and all across America."
Obama said he wants to work to prevent further damage to mortgages and health care.
"It will not be easy," he said. "It will require new ideas and new ways of thinking."
Alison Dunn said this is the first election she has been interested in.
"I have a 3-year-old son, and I think that people in the sort of the middle brackets in our society are really struggling," she said.
Dunn said she wants the next president to change the state of the U.S. economy, but she isn't sure who she'll vote for.
"I don't have a lot of anticipation," she said. "I have an open mind. I'm not a registered Democrat, so I can't vote in the primary. I'm interested in what Hillary has to say, too."
Christine Hayward said she wants to see major changes come from the next administration.
Hayward said she has not seen a politician like Obama since John F. Kennedy.
"I think the most important thing is to inspire younger voters and make them believe that they can create change," she said.
Obama said the changes he wants to make will be a challenge for the U.S.
"We are going to have to fight and struggle to bring this about. We're going to have to do this together," he said. "Change does not happen from the top down but from the bottom up."
