There were three main highlights of my trip: Governor Jennifer Granholm's and Governor John Cherry's open house for Michigan at the Library of Congress Madison, the Inauguration Ceremony, and the Michigan Dinner Dance Inaugural Ball.
Governor Jennifer Granholm's and Governor John Cherry's open house was an amazing experience. I took pictures with Jennifer Granholm, Debbie Stabenow, Carl Levin, Brenda Lawrence, Kraniak the Maniak, and more.
It was definitely a great networking experience. My team got interviewed by two television stations and three student reporters- not sure if we were on tv or in an article, but hopefully we were.
The Inauguration day didn't exactly go as planned. We had two options: watch the inauguration from John Conyer's office in the Rayburn Building (were they would serve food and drinks for free) or stand outside with the other million people in National Mall.
Our group was undecided on what option to choose.
It seemed somewhat dumb to choose to watch it on TV since it is something we could of done in Michigan, but at the same time standing outside for six hours was not a pleasant thought.
I absolutely hate the cold.
On the other hand, sitting in Conyer's office was another opportunity to network and they provided foods and drinks.
At the end, Leslie and Sydney decided to go the Conyer's office while the rest of us decided to make it a full experience by being outside (I decided to just suck it up and deal with the cold).
Doors opened at 4am for the inauguration so we woke up at 2:30am left the hotel at 3am and walked an hour to the State Capital Building (so many roads were blocked it was impossible to find a taxi).
When we got there, we walked another half an hour to find the gate.
We kept asking the police officers for directions but they didn't know anything! It was very frustrating. We finally saw an entrance with people waiting so we stayed and waited there.
The cops announced that the doors were going to open at 7am not 4am- we were SO mad!
So we waited till 7am, 7am turned into 7:30am and then the news- we were standing in the parade line! So we waited there for no reason. Then we were told that the National Mall was full.
We had no option but to go with our plan B. Since most roads were closed it took us 2 hours to find John Conyer's office. When we got there we had to go through security (another 1/2 hour).
By the time we were inside and found an room with enough seats for us to seat next to each other, our legs hurt, we were frozen, and tired.
When Obama was actually giving his inaugural speech I was half awake. We left the office around noon and then headed to the hotel- and got there at 2pm (another 2 hour walk).
I was only able to get 2 hours of sleep since we had to leave at 6:30pm for the ball.
So you might be asking why this is a highlight of my trip? Yea I froze to death, walked like I never walked in my life, had my legs hurting, and was half sleep for the actual inauguration, but overall I was there- and that is an amazing feeling. I was there to witness history happen and share the moment with many others. So there were some negatives to the trip, but it was SO worth it!
The Michigan Dinner Dance Ball was also amazing. It was held in the National Museum of American History so when I wasn't dancing or eating I was able to tour the museum and take pictures. I spent most of the night in the dance floor.
Highlights of the ball: Danced the Human Shuffle next to Jennifer Granholm and had a saxophone player come off stage, put his arm around me, and a photographer took a picture (which I will never see because I lost his business card :( )
Overall the trip was fun and a memorable experience.
I am truly honored to have gone and very thankful to Lawrence Tech for their efforts in making the trip happen. The trip meant a lot to me.
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