| HHS Students Brave
Cold to Experience Inauguration |
By Leslie
Perales
Observer Staff Writer
|
| With very little to no sleep, three Herndon High
School students braved the cold on Jan. 20 to venture down to The
National Mall to witness the Inauguration of President Barack
Obama. Herndon teacher Doug Graney led the adventure, which his
daughter Rachel also attended. |
| "I got off work around 9 p.m. and was just
way too excited to get to sleep," senior Shea Mahoney said.
Seniors Julia Downer and Jhoanne Montano met up with Mahoney and
Graney picked them up before driving to the Vienna Metro station
at about 3 a.m. Mahoney said though there were hundreds of people
at the station they did not have a difficult time getting on the
crowded Metro. "It was a little claustrophobic in there
because you were literally squished," Downer said. Rachel
said once people began to get off it made the end of the trip
better. |
| Prior to the Inauguration ceremony Graney and his
students attended congressional receptions and were able to enjoy
a warm breakfast. "We got there really early and we knew that
we had some offices that we wanted to visit so we went into the
Rayburn building," Downer said. She said later when they saw
the line for silver ticket holders to the Inauguration they could
not believe how many people had already gathered. |
| Montano said watching the Inauguration ceremony
was overwhelming. "Everyone knew exactly when to clap and
applaud and the crowds went wild when Obama came out," she
said. She said she kept wondering to herself if the experience was
real. Mahoney said she thought about how lucky she was to have the
opportunity to attend the event, and although it was not her first
Inauguration it was one she will always remember. |
| "People across the nation were just wishing
they had the chance to come out here and see what we saw,"
Downer said. "It was an honor. Seeing Obama's face and
reactions—it made me feel happy and proud of how far the nation
has come." She said she was disappointed to hear former
President George W. Bush get booed. Downer is a Republican. Her
father taught her to respect Obama but she hoped that people would
be respectful toward Bush during the last few moments of his
presidency, she said. |
| Rachel said the crowd was the largest she had
ever seen and hearing the roar of applause for Obama was her
favorite part of the event. Mahoney said Obama's presidency shows
that anyone in the country has the power to pursue their dreams as
long as they have the passion. Downer said she thinks the
Inauguration and presidency will have a positive impact on the
country's future. "Things are going to start to happen,"
she said. "Good things." |
| Being a part of the historic event is something
Montano said she will be excited to tell her children about some
day. She said she thinks it will be talked about for years,
similar to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream"
speech. "Obama showed us that anything is truly possible in
this great country," she said. Mahoney said she is one of the
luckiest teenagers in the world to have been able to attend the
ceremony. She said her favorite part of the day was listening to
Obama's speech. |
| The group attended more receptions before
departing D.C. Downer said although they were gone for about 16
hours and did not get home until around 4:30 in the afternoon it
was a worthwhile trip. If Downer could spread one message from the
day it would be to "take pride in your country," she
said. "It may seem bad sometimes but there's always a silver
lining somewhere—there's always something good coming around the
corner next," she said. |
