Students eager to see and hear President Barack Obama speak at the University of Miami on Thursday spent hours overnight waiting in line for the coveted tickets.

“I slept for an hour or two, but it was uncomfortable,” said Demi Rafuls, a UM junior studying microbiology, who waited 11 hours before she was able to get her hands on one of the tickets. She was one of about 1,000 people who camped out on university grounds overnight Tuesday through Wednesday morning.

Obama is scheduled to speak about the economy at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the school’s BankUnited Center Fieldhouse.

“He really is a symbol of hope, a symbol of change,” said senior Jude Legiste, a Haiti native who recently became a U.S. citizen and plans to cast his first U.S. vote in November’s presidential election. “I would say that the vast majority of students who are coming support him; they support what he represents. And I think he’s done a good job, quite frankly.”

The line started near the University Center in the heart of campus and snaked around the school’s library and administrative buildings.

By 6 a.m., an estimated 1,000 students had made the queue. Tickets were distributed beginning 6:30 a.m., said Joshua Brandfon, UM’s associate director of student activities.

Students who got their hands on tickets said the long wait was worth it.

“It’s the president of the United States,” Rafuls said. “How often does someone get to be within 50 feet of the president?”

After his UM speech, Obama is scheduled to attend a fundraising reception at the Biltmore Hotel and later at the Coral Gables home of lawyer Chris Korge, a top fundraiser for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. From Miami, Air Force One will fly Obama to Orlando for a $30,000-per-person fundraising dinner at the home of NBA star Vince Carter.

Drivers in the Coral Gables area should expect delays Thursday while Obama is in the area and moving between locations. Delays also can be expected around Miami International Airport due to the president’s arrival and departure.

WLRN Miami Herald News reporter Ariana Prothero and Miami Herald staffers Diana Moskovitz and Tim Chapman contributed to this report.