Sen. John Edwards, D-NC, announced he had received the endorsement of Ashley Bell, president of the College Democrats of America, and announced his agenda for young Americans during a conference call with college newspapers Wednesday.

Edwards took advantage of the endorsement from the president of the College Democrats, the official outreach arm of the Democratic Party, calling himself the “most appealing candidate to university students.”

While Bell announced his individual support for Edwards, the College Democrats don’t officially support any of the nine democratic presidential candidates.

Twenty-two year old Bell has been called “the most impressive college student in politics” by CNN’s Frank Sesno. In 2000, Bell became the youngest black delegate at a Democratic convention in history, taking part in the caucus when he was barely 18, he said.

A law student at Louisiana State University, Bell has been active with college Democrats since his freshman year at Valdosta State University in Georgia and has transformed the College Democrats of America “into the fastest growing political organization in the country,” Edwards said.

Bell said he supported Edwards because he cares about people more “than special interest groups.

“Young people are aching for real leadership on the issues to our lives. Today’s graduates are struggling to find jobs,” Bell said. “I want a job after college, and John Edwards will make the first year of college free and has a plan to create jobs for the college graduates this administration has neglected. He is our best hope of winning back the White House.”

Edwards said he was motivated to provide a year of free college education because of personal reasons. He was the first member of his family to attend a university and worked his way through North Carolina State University.

Edwards said his plan is to provide free tuition to a student at a state university or college if they meet the qualifications to be enrolled in college and are willing to work 10 hours a week during the first year in school.

Bell’s support came at a critical time for Edwards when his campaign is looking to break away from the middle of the pack of nine candidates and convince voters he is in the presidential race for the long haul. Edwards announced Monday he would not seek re-election to his Senate seat from North Carolina so he could focus on his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

His main opponent for the support of college students is Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont, who has led a successful grassroots campaign on the Internet. Edwards said he would ultimately become the most popular among students by “visiting college students and reaching out to young people.”

“My focus on university students will become increasingly more intense as the campaign continues because I believe college students are very natural constituents,” Edwards said.

A poll last week in South Carolina, next to his home state, found him leading, but only a percentage point or two ahead of Dean and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.