Twelve-year-old Nicholas Fernandes didn’t spend his vacation at camp or playing Xbox all day. Instead, he devoted his summer to work on a political campaign.

Between June and August, Nicholas, along with 75 other student interns (ages 12 to 22), researched policy positions, stuffed envelopes and distributed campaign literature on behalf of Josh Lafazan, who serves on the Nassau County Legislature. They also knocked on 25,000 doors in Long Island towns like Bayville, Syosset and Locust Valley.

“I was nervous before I knocked on the first door,” said Nicholas, who added that homeowners were often confused to be greeted by children who wanted nothing more than to talk politics. But Nicholas and his brother, Neil, 14, another intern, found that it usually worked to their advantage.

“When we actually started talking about Josh’s policies, people were surprised and happy that we could talk to them at such a young age and that we were doing this for our community,” Neil said. “It was good to get to know people from different backgrounds so we can understand their different positions on things.”