Zachary Ellison was on BarackObama.com at around 11:50 PM (Hawaii time) when he decided to donate to the campaign.

"I looked at the counter, and it was very close to a million," says Zach, a student at University of Hawaii who works at a grocery store to help pay the bills. "I don't have much money, but I decided I wanted to be a part of this."

After the 2004 elections, Zach says he was deeply disappointed by the state of our politics. "But I discovered Obama and thought he was a really straight shooter, someone who was honest and realistic," Zach remembers. "After the DNC speech, I started following him. I read The Audacity of Hope and was really impressed with his intellect and substance."

Zach says he is most impressed by the fact that Obama stood against the war in Iraq from the beginning, before it was popular. He's also deeply concerned with student debt, and appreciates Obama's strong efforts to make college affordable.

Having attended a private college before U of Hawaii, Zach says he is nearly $90,000 in debt. "My parents are both retired and my family is not particularly well to do," says Zach, "and I'm drowning in debt."

"While other politicians have been dismissive of my generation," says Zach. "I feel like Obama speaks directly to my generation." 

When we called Zach and let him that he was the one millionth person to donate to the campaign, he said he "was shaking with excitement." Zach says he's proud to be a part of this historic achievement: "This campaign showed me that you can run a campaign in a completely different way than campaigns are tradionally run. Small donations matter. People can really get together, get organized, and get it done."

Here is Senator Obama's statement on reaching one million donors:

When I announced my candidacy a little over a year ago, I knew we wouldn't be able to compete unless hundreds of thousands of ordinary people got involved and took a personal stake in this campaign. As of today, over one million people have donated -- an extraordinary outpouring that has exceeded everybody's expectations.

There is a palpable hunger for something new in this country -- a politics that isn't accountable to K Street, but to Main Street, a politics that prioritizes the concerns of ordinary people over the clout of corporate lobbyists. One million people with one voice have registered their desire for change -- and that's a voice that can no longer be ignored.

I'm humbled by this historic total, and I'm proud of the fact that 90% of our contributions have come in amounts of $100 or less, and that we haven't taken a dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs.

But what I'm humbled by most is that in this campaign, we're seeing that with each new day, someone else cares.  With each new day, somebody else believes in the possibility of change.  With each new day, someone who never thought they'd ever get active in the political process participates. Because so many ordinary people are participating this time, each day our improbable goal becomes more and more probable.    

Thanks to everybody who has been one of the million. Let's keep building this movement -- let's go change America and let's go change the world. 

UPDATE: Zachary emailed to let us know that he wrote a My.BarackObama.com blog about the massive problem facing so many young people in this country right now: student debt.

You can start you're own blog today at My.BarackObama.com -- it's a great way to talk about the issues you care about and the importance and solving them.