Obama at Penn State!!

The 44th President of the United States visited our campus today!  President Obama visited our campus, toured our research labs, and spoke to our students about winning the future through innovation.  Whether you agree with his policies or not, in the words of Joe Biden this is a "big f*ing deal". Our president selected our university as one of the few universities in the country to tour and use as an example for innovative research.  I was lucky enough to volunteer for Obama and attend his speech, and I would like to tell you more about my experience:

I am a member of the College of Democrats, and we were offered the opportunity to volunteer to help out at Obama's speech. I readily accepted the chance to hear the President speak in person, and attended the necessary meetings leading up to his arrival day.  I was assigned to overflow, and besides the 8:15 A.M. arrival time the job was pretty easy, because not many people knew the speech could be viewed on TVs set up in the South Gym of Rec Hall.


Time drew closer to Obama's arrival and  excitement grew amongst the volunteers.  We were guaranteed seats in Rec Hall and we were anxiously awaiting the phone call to be called into Rec Hall.

The phone call came around 11 AM, but it was nothing we expected.  The head organizer notified us that the audience was larger than expected in Rec Hall, and they gave away our seats. We would have to watch the speech from the South Gym. We were now the overflow.

And we were crushed.

Fifteen minutes passed as I and the other volunteers tried to understand why they would sell us short and give away our seats after we sacrificed so much time for them.  Just as some disappointed students were getting ready to head back to their shifts at work, we received another call. We were getting in, and we were getting in the VIP section!

Relieved and rejuvenated, we excitedly made our way through security and on the the floor of Rec Hall. It was amazing. The stands were packed and you could feel the excitement coursing through the audience.  They were passing the time with the wave and "We are" cheer as they waited for Obama's late arrival.

Finally, around 12:15, Obama stepped onto the stage. The audience went crazy and applause filled Rec Hall.  Obama made an address similar to his State of the Union address, but this time he solely focused on innovation.  Obama cited Penn State as an example of innovative research and described plans for an Eco-hub campus being built in the Philadelphia Navy Yard in order to bring together the best minds and scientists to innovate for the future. Obama continued with his theme of "winning the future" by describing a competitive market for funding of research and ideas. He said, "if you show us the best ideas...we'll show you the money".  The crowd was especially responsive to his references to Penn State University and Joe Paterno. I found it amazing that he was using no notes or a teleprompter, and he was very attentive to the audiences reactions.

Obama ended his speech with a challenge to Penn State students, and college students everywhere.  He said, "We need you to act, we need you to act with a sense of urgency. To study and work and create as if the fate of the country depends on you, because it does".  He left with a confidence that we had the means and energy necessary to "win the future" and brought the crowd to an uproarious applause. Though I was not lucky enough to meet Obama, I felt extraordinarily lucky to be able to hear him speak in person.  My morning was full, and at times dramatic, but I left Obama's speech on a high note with a desire to work hard and help lead our country to a bright future.