Baldwin Community Inspired by Inaugural Access

2009-01-20

Update 1/20/09:Members of Mary Baldwin College and the community gathered in Francis Auditoriun and the Spencer Center to witness the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama Tuesday. Cheers erupted from the crowd at several times during the ceremony and Obama's speech, and a short panel discussion following the event shed light on Obama's rhetoric and viewer's personal connections to the national celebration.

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Update 1/19/09:Student Kimberley Parker '11 was given exclusive access to inauguration activities as an alumna of the Congressional Youth Leadership Council. On Sunday, she attended a speech by former Secretary of State Gen.Colin Powell; went to a discussion called Caught in the Crossfire between Democratic strategist Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson, senior political correspondent from MSNBC; and the opening celebration concert at the Lincoln Memorial.

Parker provided these glimpses from the day leading up to the inauguration: "The opening concert was the most touching and heartfelt event ... It began with the National Anthem and ended with the president-elect's passionate words. Today was just great and I cannot wait for tomorrow's adventures."

"There was a powerful moment when Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said that president elect Barack Obama has the type of transformational leadership style that will shape the way the country acts and feels about politics."

Original article 1/14/09

Most of us think of the presidential inauguration as a few hours of televised ceremony and speeches, but a few members of the Mary Baldwin College community will have much more exposure during this month’s historic inauguration — which includes 10 days of events and activities. Several students, faculty, and staff told us that they are planning to make the pilgrimage to Washington DC sans tickets — just to be part of the massive crowd expected to converge to watch the swearing in of the nation’s first African-American president. But at least one MBC alumna and two students will work and revel behind the scenes and in the spotlight of the 56th Presidential Inauguration … with tickets.

PRESIDENTIAL CLASS

“My seat at the presidential inauguration was secured even before the results were in. After Barack Obama was elected, I received a letter from his office requesting my attendance,” said senior Stephanie Ragland. Now that was an invitation she couldn’t refuse.

Watch Party

Watch the swearing-in of Barack Obama with the MBC community live from Francis Auditorium on Jan. 20. Festivities begin at 11:15am. The swearing-in will be at noon.
Following the swearing-in our panel will share reflections and respond to text messages, photos, and more from MBC faculty and students attending the inaugural in DC.

Ragland was given access not only to the inauguration ceremony but also to seminars with prominent guest speakers and the inaugural parade and ball because of her participation in the Presidential Classroom program as a senior in high school. Presidential Classroom provides high-achieving high school students with educational opportunities and meetings with policymakers in the nation’s capitol. Ragland met then-Senator Barack Obama, Senator Hilary Clinton, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, among others, while in the program in 2005.

“He shook my hand and we had a brief conversation, and then he asked me to go to his computer and add my contact to his ‘buddy list,’” Ragland said of Obama. “I did, and I have received e-mails and letters from his office since. I feel as though I know President-elect Obama and his family.”

She is doing her best to prepare for the once-in-a-lifetime experience; selecting her dress for a ball, thinking about the traffic and security the group will encounter, and getting fitted for the bullet-proof vest she will wear at the inauguration.

Her first vote for a United States president will certainly be remembered. “The story of me being there will follow my family for as long as the world is turning,” she said.

POISE IN UNIFORM

Lieutenant Colleen Lowe ’00 is one of the people who will help ensure Ragland’s safety — and that of an expected 4,000,000 people who will gather in Washington — during inaugural “week,” which is actually 10 days. Lowe, a reservist in the U.S. Navy for the past eight years, is part of a team responsible for the selection, training, and performance of military assistants who will assist VIPs attending inaugural events.

“I think of it as planning the largest Change of Command ceremony you can imagine,” she said in December. “We were able to and do a great deal [of planning] in the capitol prior to the election, and now that we have a president-elect, it’s time to get to work.”

Lowe is a member of the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, continuing an American tradition of military participation in the presidential inauguration that began with George Washington’s swearing-in ceremony in 1789. Nearly 750 members from all branches of the U.S. armed forces will carry out the committee’s assignments this January, according to Captain Meritt Phillips, a public affairs action officer on the committee.

“Lieutenant Lowe’s role in the inaugural is like that of any essential military mission during peace or war,” Phillips said. “Participation in this event demonstrates our military’s support of the nation’s newly elected commander-in-chief.”

LEADERSHIP PROGRESSION

Similar to Ragland’s pass to attend the inauguration through the Presidential Classroom program, MBC sophomore Kimberly Parker will be given exclusive access as an alumna of the Congressional Youth Leadership Council. Parker was invited to attend private Inaugural Conference events and activities such as roundtable discussions with national journalists, meetings with congressional staff, and point/ counter point debates with leading political experts. Participants in the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference also witness the official swearing-in of the President of the United States and view the inaugural parade.

“No matter who was elected, I would be excited to go, but it is even more personally meaningful for me because of Obama’s win,” said Parker, who is a political moderate who said she agreed with aspects of both presidential candidates during the campaign.

Parker plans to keep a daily journal with pictures — one of which she hopes will be of herself and President-elect Obama — to document her experience. Parker serves as a Senate co-chair at MBC, and she also hopes to network, building on her goal to work in politics after graduation.

“I feel very honored to be able to go to the inauguration,” Parker said.

Origijnally published inThe Cupolaat MBC. An article by Jordan Fowler ’10 from Campus Comments, MBC’s student newspaper, was used as a source for information about Kimberly Parker’s inauguration attendance.