Catching up with NC's youngest, oldest delegates
PHILADELPHIA (WTVD) -- John Easterling just finished his first year of college at UNC Greensboro. He turned 19 in February, and is the youngest of the 120 North Carolina delegates in Philadelphia this week.
"You know what? It's so surreal," Easterling told ABC11.
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Despite his youth, Easterling is a veteran to state party politics. He's been volunteering since before he could even vote. It paid off when he ran this year to be an at-large delegate for Hillary Clinton.
"With the years I've been involved with the party, rising the ranks and wearing so many hats, it was kind of easy when I ran at large," Easterling said.
Finding the Tar Heel State's youngest delegate was easy. Finding the oldest, not so much.
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Meet Raleigh State Rep. Rosa Gill. At 72, she insists she's not the oldest.
"No, not the oldest delegate," Gill said. "Probably the longest-acting delegate."
At Gill's first Democratic Convention, she was 21 years old. That was in 1976 and she was inspired by her college professor at Shaw University.
"Well, it just told me that in order for us to be a part of history, we've got to be involved," Gill said. "That was what my civics teacher taught me at Shaw University."
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The NC delegation's senior member said she came to witness Hillary Clinton make history. Or her-story.
"This year, I wanted to see the glass ceiling fall," Gill said.
Meanwhile, Easterling, the youngest member, is already sounding like a seasoned politician.
"North Carolina has done so much for me," he said, "and it's about time that I pay her back."
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