Emporia High School sophomore Cody Lindquist has experienced more in the past few days than some people do in a lifetime.
Lindquist returned Wednesday afternoon from a trip to Washington, D.C., where he attended the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference, which began on Saturday. His eighth-grade enrichment teacher, Ginger Lewman, had nominated him to attend the National Youth State Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City several years ago, and completing that made him eligible for the inaugural conference.
“It was really fun,” Lindquist said on his return from the capital.
The conference included tours of memorials and monuments in the capital before checking in at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel near Tysons Corner Center in the Virgina suburbs. Then, the conference began in earnest.
The group was taken to the University of Maryland that evening to hear Lisa Ling of National Geographic and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin.
“The next day, we got to go back to Maryland and listen to Colin Powell and Desmond Tutu speak to us,” Lindquist said. “It was really good.”
That night, they again returned to Maryland to hear a presentation by Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to climb Mount Everest and author of two books, “Touch the Top of the World” and “The Adversity Advantage.”
“He was probably my favorite speaker,” Lindquist said. “He was really inspirational.”
Before they left, each youngster received a copy of one of the books.
Former vice president, Democratic presidential candidate and author Al Gore spoke to the group on Monday.
“He was cool, because he told us how we should shape the future of the country because we’re so young,” Lindquist said.
Tutu especially impressed Lindquist with his humor and gregariousness. Tutu was the first black Anglican Archbishop of South Africa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism and the Gandhi Peace Prize.
“He got us all laughing and involved. We were really into his speech,” Lindquist said. “He told us how we were all V.S.P. Very Special People, and we had to say it out loud ... and that we would all do something special in this world and it was up to us to make decisions if we were going to do something about it or not.”
The group also attended a few plays that Lindquist said “made fun of everything that was going on.”
The inauguration the following day found him separated from his group, as others were, but he found his way to an advantageous spot to watch the proceedings and didn’t worry about finding the group until after the ceremonies were finished.
He had gone to the event well-prepared with “a bunch of Hot Hands and Hot Feet,” he said. “I had so many clothes on, I really didn’t get cold. I was really prepared.”
Lindquist said he had been surprised at the casualness of the outing.
The youngsters was got up at 5:30 a.m. and were at the National Mall by 7:30 a.m., to wait for the noon inauguration.
“They were really late with bus schedules and stuff,” he said. “I don’t think they expected all of us kids. They weren’t as organized as I thought they would be.”
The ceremony, though, was worth watching.
“It was great to be there and be a part of history ... and watching President Obama being sworn in was really cool because we know he’s going to make a difference,” Lindquist said.
The president and first lady Michelle Obama did not make an appearance at the gala ball for the 15,000 Youth Conference participants. The event was held in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and featured a performance by a popular rock band, Daughtry.
Lindquist considered the trip successful and unmarred by the temporary separation from the group at the inauguration.
The National Mall was filled with young people on Tuesday, in addition to the older adults, and Obama’s message got through to many of them, according to Lindquist.
“We all need to help with change in this country because the government can’t do it alone. Everyone has to help out to fix the economy and stuff,” he said.
“I think they see that Obama is a special kind of guy. He wants to get something done and they’ll do what they can to help.”