College of Education News

Students and Faculty Plan Inauguration Visit

January 17, 2009

On Carey Ash’s to-do list, you’ll find haircut, food survival kit, and digital camera obtainment. Yesterday Ash called his mother to overnight the camera from Louisiana; today he awaits its arrival.

“I’ll need to post photos immediately,” Ash laughed, mentioning the urgency of updating his Facebook account with a play-by-play of President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration.

April Warren-Grice and Carey Ash

On Sunday, the Educational Policy Studies student will board a plane to Washington, D.C. to view the inauguration. Ash bought the ticket back in October, before election results rolled in. He is one of several College of Education students and faculty who plan the pilgrimage to the nation’s capital and will return to Champaign to recount their stories.

“It’s good enough to watch (the inauguration) on T.V., read it on the Internet or sit by the fire and listen to it on the radio,” Ash said. “But I need to be there. I need to see this moment… to not participate would be a disservice to me and my posterity for generations to come.”

During his undergraduate years at Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge, Ash met then-Senator Obama after a school presentation in 2007. There, Ash shook the Senator’s hand and garnered an autograph on his hardcover copy of “The Audacity of Hope.”

Now, as he finishes his master’s degree in Educational Policy Studies and turns his sight toward law school, Ash awaits direction from the new president.

“I’m hoping to hear a series of things,” Ash said of his expectations on Inauguration Day. “I’m hoping to hear the truth. I need to hear what it is I need to do as a citizen; that my government doesn’t just depend on its elected officials but also on its citizens. I’m hoping to hear what is expected of me.”

Like Ash, April Warren-Grice is planning her departure to the inauguration—but she will have 25 high school students in tow. As a high school English teacher in St. Louis, Warren-Grice initiated an afterschool program, Partners in Achievement, for underserved students. Although she has since moved to Champaign to pursue her Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies, Warren-Grice maintains close contact with the group. “I go back home frequently enough,” she said. “I can never separate myself from my students.”

“This is why the law needs to change to pay teachers better,” Ash interjects.

After tutoring sessions at Partners in Achievement, Warren-Grice said many students hang around longer to talk politics. “We have had countless hours of conversation about how Obama represents hope,” she said. “The students say, ‘If he can do it, I can do it. I can step up my game. I can study law. I can be president.’”

A full itinerary of activities awaits the high school group, including tours of Washington D.C. and an inauguration ball for teenagers. From flight jitters to wardrobe queries, Warren-Grice said her Facebook account is aflutter with dialogue from her group of 25. All are electrified with anticipation, as they helped fundraise for their tickets to the event. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them,” she said. “This will be a life-changing event.”

Both Warren-Grice and Ash make mental notes about preparation. Ash said he will be sending out an e-mail notification to his professors. “Of course I don’t enjoy missing class too much, but I’ll take my unexcused absence,” he paused, laughing. “If the president will excuse me, then it’ll be okay.”

“Can you cc me so I can email my teachers, too?” Warren-Grice chimed in.

In the end, Ash says the inauguration experience will only fortify his role in education. “My goal will be to help make education a number one priority because there’s so much going on in America and the world that sometimes our priorities don’t get lined up in the right order.”

For now, Ash awaits the arrival of the UPS truck with his digital camera. If it doesn’t arrive? A last-minute Wal-Mart camera will suffice. “The price of history far exceeds the cost of a new digital camera,” Ash paused. “Thank God for credit cards.”

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With several College of Education faculty members and students attending the presidential inauguration, stay tuned to read their and Ash and Warren-Grice’s account of events.