Explores - Champlain College

| Parting Glances |A Tale of Two Road TripsKayleigh Blanchette ’12Photograph by Daniel Pereira ’12 (right)Just one week into what promised to be a busy semester, two Champlain College students boltedBurlington for the nation’s capital—and a chance to make history by attending the inauguration ofthe 44th President, Barack Obama.For Emily Swan ’12, a Psychology major from Purcellville, Virginia, the decision was spontaneous. “Ijust woke up that morning [Monday, January 19] and left,” she says. “I didn’t even tell my mom.”Daniel Pereira ’12, in contrast, had been planning the trip for months—maybe years. An Obamacampaign volunteer going back to the Democratic primary race, the Public Relations major fromRandolph, New Jersey, began pitching in on Democratic campaigns as long ago as Al Gore’s bid for thepresidency in 2000. “After spending so much time on the campaign, I felt like it was necessary for me togo,” Pereira says. “I couldn’t afford to miss it.” Pereira says that he plans to pursue a career in politics.Although record crowds kept both Champlainers from getting within view of the swearing-inceremony—Swan alighted at a spot near the Smithsonian Institution, about a half-mile away, and Pereiramade it to a point between the Capitol and the Washington Monument—just being a part of the gatheringon the National Mall made the journey worthwhile. “Seeing everyone there—it was just like this lightfeeling,” Swan says. “Everyone was so excited to be there for the same reason … During the speech, no onesaid a word. People were crying. It was really touching.”For Pereira, who ventured closer to the Capitol the night before to snap a photo of himself and hiscompanions, the crowds also made a lasting impression. “To get there at 5 a.m. and already have a couplehundred thousand people there, literally a massive parade to the mall,” he recalls, “was really an experiencethat cannot be compared.”However, even a once-in-a-lifetime experience can come at a cost when it involves skipping school. “Ihad to write a couple of essays on the experience,” Pereira says, adding that the makeup assignments mayhave been motivated as much by jealousy on the part of his instructors as by his absence from class.To read more about these trips, visit www.alumni.champlain.edu/champlain_view.Champlain View | Spring 09 45