Sarah Richardson didn't let an internship in Costa Rica stop her from voting for Barack Obama - with an absentee ballot, of course.

So the 20-year-old North Central College student wasn't going to let something like class get in the way of watching history.

"There was no way I was going to miss this," she said.

Richardson was far from alone. More than 250 people - a vast majority of them North Central students - packed the theater at the college's Meiley-Swallow Hall.

"People are surprised and happy and willing to show their support," said Stephanie Kuersten, a 19-year-old sophomore at the college.

During the inauguration, dozens of people took pictures of the big-screen TV and the crowd around them. The group cheered and applauded during key moments. When President Obama was sworn in, they all stood up.

Richardson says she's not surprised so many young people responded to Obama's message.

"It's not that we don't care (about politics)," she said. "We were waiting for someone to actually listen. People saw in Barack Obama that our voice is actually being heard."