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Despite the overnighting from Louisiana, Carey Hawkins Ash's digital camera did not arrive on time. "I had to go analog," he lamented. True to his word, the Educational Policy Studies student stocked up on disposable cameras and checked out a camcorder from Education's User Services, which he used to document his journey. While he waits for film edits and for the cameras to be developed, Ash maintains he simply cannot capture the inauguration's essence.

"I would say the event was great. Wonderful," Ash said. "But I don't think we've created the words yet to describe it."

Ash was one of several students and faculty from the College of Education who attended the presidential inauguration and returned to report their experiences.

For April Warren-Grice, a second-year Ph.D. student in Educational Policy Studies, she witnessed not only herself, but 20 young students morph from a frosty mass on the Washington mall to tear-stained shareholders of history. From St. Louis to D.C., Grice chaperoned 20 highschoolers from "Partners in Achievement," an afterschool program Grice initiated for underserved students.

"Before Obama spoke, there was the shivering sound of legs shaking and teeth chattering, but when he began to speak, it was a sea of peace, tranquility, and hope," Grice said. "My students are forever changed. They forgot how cold it was and realized that there was something greater than the freezing temperatures--they saw the warmth of hope."

Like a family member's graduation, Grice said it was a "given" she would attend Obama's inauguration. "My president had me at 'hello' when I first met him in Nashville, Tenn. in the Spring of 2007... I sat in the extreme heat in Springfield, Ill. this past Summer and so I would sit through the extreme cold this Winter to see him sworn in."

Journalist Ellie Gardner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tagged along with Grice and her students to produce a short video of the group's experience. Although she tells her students that she returned to school for her Ph.D. to "save the world," Grice admitted that it's easy to become jaded by pessimism and failing school systems.

"But with this historic and momentous occasion, Obama created hope," She said. "When people thought he could never do it, he just kept going, making change one American citizen at a time... He gave me permission to keep trying to save the world."

While Grice oversaw a sea of familiar faces, Ash turned down a seat with friends closer to the stage in order to soak in his surroundings with strangers, "Because that experience of standing with the people can't be recorded," he said. "To be there in these millions, I wouldn't have traded that for the world, standing in a plethora of people, seeing them standing on the mall united to hear a man say 35 words."

That day Ash made acquaintances from the East coast, West coast, and in between, but most profound was a connection he made from across the ocean.

"The restaurants were so crowded, people were sitting at tables with strangers just to fill the seats," Ash settled next to a woman from Ukraine, who had flown to D.C. just to witness the inauguration. "That was the most significant moment for me. It reaffirmed my position as a citizen of the world. That is what made it significant. This inauguration was a dawning point for the whole world."

In translating the experience to his own role in education, Ash said he was inspired to further his education and advocacy for others.

"Think about the hurdles we've had in education to provide equal access and opportunity," Ash said. "Those are the disparities I want to see resolved, and that's the hope I took away. We can change anything. We can improve anything. There's nothing beyond our reach if we are committed."

After Ash returned from the capitol, he met with his adviser, Prof. James D. Anderson of Educational Policy Studies.

"I just had a meeting with him yesterday," Anderson said, adding that the two discussed the inauguration. "He was still excited, but more than that, there was a sense of purpose. We had a lot of students go out to the inauguration, but for him in particular it was a good thing."

Anderson said he had spoken with several students since their return, and the afterglow remains. "They were all in awe. You could feel that it was such a special experience for them to be out there on the mall."

Although he hated to miss class, Ash said he appreciated his adviser, the secretaries, and the Educational Policy Studies overall support.

"Some departments may not be as understanding," Ash said. "That's something to be said for our College. It's one thing to appreciate diversity of people; it's another thing to appreciate diversity of experience."

This experience, Grice said, sparked new hope within herself, reinforcing her job as an educator and role model. "(Obama) along with others that have paved the way, remind me that I can and must go on in the face of adversity, and my role here in the College of Education allows me to be a symbol of hope for some other student that never thought graduate school was for them."

Grice's faculty adviser, Prof. Lawrence Parker of Educational Policy Studies said he spoke with her a few days after the event and noticed the lasting effect. "She said she was still on a high about it, that it was great to be a part of this history."

In addition, Parker noted the value of the experience, influencing Grice's role as an educator. "I think she'll be able to use this story as a way to give a sense of history to young people. You're not lecturing them, you're giving them a story to hook into, in terms of giving them insight."

Grice and her students have long since returned to the classroom; she said the residual effects will ripple into her own studies.

"It gave me the inspiration to continue my research: To see my students changed by this event, made me realize that they are my passion and it is my sincere desire to make changes in educational policy so that they might have a better educational experience, and have the opportunity to capitalize on their potential. They are my inspiration."

Ash has also returned to Champaign and as a student senator, authored a resolution to congratulate Obama on his inauguration. That resolution will be signed, sealed and delivered to the White House. And while he waits for the photo-developing bill, Ash still finds himself questioning the reality of the event. "I have pictures. I have audio. I have flight receipts. My bank account says I was there," Ash paused. "But I still don't believe it."

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