New Castle students and educators stand on the west front of the Capitol Building, where President Obama took the oath of office. Pictured, from left, are Assistant Principal Robert Razzano, Colin Stragar-Rice, teacher Gloria Soubra, teacher Diana Rankin, Brian Richards, U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, Lauren Minenok, Jonalynn Salzano, Aleyce Johnson, Trenice Scott, Jesse Travis, Ta’Shawn Jones, Krystalynn Anderson, Shelby Bell and teacher Joe Cowart.
As an administrator for the New Castle Area School District, I could not think of a more educational and historical event for our students to view than the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.
As I started to share this idea with others, two common responses were made. The first response was “What a great idea!” The second was, “Are you nuts?”
The reality was that both responses were absolutely correct. Nonetheless, as the saying goes “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
Over the next several weeks, permissions were granted, committees were formed, and up until the day before we left, we were still finalizing plans for the trip.
On Jan. 18 at approximately 10 a.m., two vans headed for Washington, D.C., pulled out of the parking lot of New Castle Junior-Senior High School. What would ensue during the next 100 hours was strictly a result of excellent students, excellent adults, excellent teachers and an excellent leader.
The excellent students are Colin Stragar-Rice, Shelby Bell, Trenice Scott, Aleyce Johnson, Ta’Shawn Jones, Krystalynn Anderson, Jesse Travis, Jonalynn Salzano, Lauren Minenok and Brian Richards. These 10 students had to bare the bitter cold, walk miles up and down the streets of our nation’s capital, wake up at 4:15 a.m., stand for hours at a time, be squashed like sardines in a can, sleep on a floor for three nights, write out expense reports, interview other students from all over the country, and combat the anxiety and stress of being in a crowd of two million people. I will never be more proud of a group of students than of these exceptional young people.
The excellent adults are Jeff and Danielle Sant. This young couple were gracious enough to open up their lovely home to us for four days and three nights. They were marvelous hosts whose warmth and generosity were exemplified throughout our stay.
The excellent teachers are Gloria Soubra, Diana Rankin and Joe Cowart. The many hours of planning, preparation and implementation that these three individuals dedicated to this trip truly demonstrate their commitment and caring to our students.
The excellent leader is our Congressman Jason Altmire. He displayed his public servant model of leadership by not only making time out of his busy schedule to do an interview with our students, but he also personally gave us a tour of the Capitol.
Altmire’s knowledge of history was impressive throughout the tour. However, the climax of the tour was when he marched us out onto the platform where a day before Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Our students were in awe and immediately started to call their parents. You could hear them telling their mother or father, “Mom/Dad, guess where I am standing right now?” It was a moment that will be forever etched into my mind.
The six girls and four boys who made the trip to President Obama’s inauguration might not appreciate the significance of the historical event now, but sometime in their future they will comprehend that it actually was the trip of a lifetime.
(Robert A. Razzano is assistant principal at New Castle Senior High School.)
1:49 p.m. Tuesday
Washington, D.C.
As soon as the event started, everyone was silent and attentive. When Obama got sworn in, everyone was silent until he said “so help me God,” then everyone erupted into cheering.
When he started to give his speech, everyone was hanging on every word he was saying. It was completely silent except when he would get excited. Everyone started cheering. Whenever he made a good point, the whole crowd would just cheer.
We were pretty far from the actual ceremonies. We were in front of the Washington Monument.
It was the most amazing thing I have ever been to. It’s certainly the most important thing I have ever been to. My classmates all loved it. They were all captivated as I was. It was definitely worth it.
From here we’re going to Marvin Center at George Washington University.
Colin Stragar-Rice
Senior
9:10 a.m. Tuesday
