By B.C. Manion
He’s just 16 years old, but Kiran Sharma made memories to last a lifetime during the second inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Sharma, a junior who attends the International Baccalaureate Program at Land O’ Lakes High, was one of 2,000 scholars nationwide selected to participate in the five-day High School Presidential Inaugural Conference.
Sharma recalled the thrill of being able to share in the collective experience of hundreds of thousands of people on Jan. 21 when Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were ceremonially sworn into office after private events the previous day.
Gearing up for the day of the 57th presidential inauguration festivities began early for Sharma.
“We had to wake up at 4 in the morning, grab our breakfast,” he said. “Since I’m from Florida, I’m very sensitive to the cold. It was freezing up there. I was under four pairs of clothing.”
Even with special access, the group he was with watched from about four blocks away as Obama took the oath.
The distance didn’t diminish Sharma’s experience. He said he could see and hear everything on the big screen.
Even on that day, he noticed some political bickering.
“Partisan politics was going on both sides, the usual, but when President Obama came out and showed his face to America — and had a nice pleasing smile on his face — all of the flags, they just waved everywhere,” Sharma said. He added, “That’s when time stops. They focused on Obama and what he was going to say.”
At that moment of Obama’s arrival, Sharma said it felt as though the people were united as “one nation under God.”
Besides being able to watch the action on big screens, Sharma soaked in the atmosphere.
“You can see the (U.S.) Capitol building and all of the banners, and you can hear the music,” he explained.
“I made video recordings of Vice President Biden being sworn in and President Obama being sworn in,” he continued.
The event was more than the nation’s leader taking the oath of office.
“It’s not just swearing in, but it’s also taking responsibility for the nation’s actions,” Sharma said. He added, “He was very inspirational.”
While the inaugural ceremony was exciting, Sharma said he had other inspiring experiences during the conference.
He heard speeches from former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and four-star general and former NATO Commander Gen. Wesley Clark.
The group also heard from Nick Clooney, a journalist who is actor George Clooney’s father. Sharma said he was lucky enough to have his photo taken with Nick Clooney.
Clark’s speech, in particular, resonated with Sharma. The talk was not laced with the clichés that many inspirational speeches seem to have, Sharma said.
“He really spoke from the heart,” Sharma said. “He gave us three specific stories about how he was a kid, he was a teenager and then he served in the military. They had three distinctive lessons. It really opened my eyes up to actually become more involved in the community,” said Sharma, who aspires to become a heart surgeon and to do international pharmaceutical sales.
Conference-goers also watched the movie All The President’s Men and heard from Bob Woodward, one of the investigative reporters featured in the movie, which detailed the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Besides hearing from widely known speakers, the conference-goers had a chance to discuss what they’d heard and to form friendships, Sharma said.
He plans to stay in touch with several of the other students that he met, and he hopes they will return to experience the inauguration of the nation’s next president together.
