Around MSD - Maryland School for the Deaf

Our White House Visit
This is the story of the best honor I have ever received: I
was invited to the White House! The remarkable experience
of going to the White House was awesome.
One Monday as I sat with Lisa Houck, the then campus
principal, in her office, she broke the shocking news that
Tessa Lewis, Kaliah Doe, and I were invited to the White
House. There was supposed to have been an important
man from the White House, Kareem Dale, coming to the
Frederick campus of the Maryland School for the Deaf
that Friday, but the same day he was supposed to visit,
President Obama had a signing event for the 21 st Century
Communication and Video Accessibility Act, a law that
will make technology more accessible for people who are
deaf, blind, or both. Mr. Dale had to be there and regretted
missing the MSD visit, so he invited three members of the
Student Body Government team to go to the White House.
After a long week of waiting, the time finally came.
Mr. Tucker, Ms. Houck, Kaliah, Tessa, and I met on
Superintendent James E. Tucker, Kaliah Doe, Tessa Lewis, and
Asher Kirschbaum pose in front of the portrait of President John
F. Kennedy at the East Wing of the White House moments before
President Barack Obama’s signing of the Twenty-First Century
Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010.
campus and, after a long drive to
Washington D.C., met the rest of
the people who were invited. When
it was time, we began making our
way through the checkpoints. There
were three different checkpoints. I was
asked for my identity card each time. When I got through
the third checkpoint, the guard, after checking the list to
see if I was invited, nodded and signaled to let me pass. I
excitedly walked through a gate and finally stepped onto
the property of the White House. I glanced over to see if
my companions were as excited as I was. Their bright faces
told me the answer.
We entered the White House; it was just like entering
the king’s palace. Everything was decorated, beautiful,
and memorable. We spent some time to looking around
the various halls and rooms of the White House. Then we
went to the beautiful East Room and waited for President
Obama. Before he arrived, various important people were
introduced to be part of the signing. The famous musician,
Stevie Wonder, who is blind, was one of them. President
Obama entered, gave a five-minute speech, and signed
the bill. After signing the bill, he rose and said, “So, let’s
party!” People cheered and applauded. Just before President
Obama left the room, Lisa Houck caught his attention and
urged Kaliah to give him a gift from the Maryland School
for the Deaf. It was a notepad with the MSD cupola on it.
President Obama thanked us, shook hands with Kaliah,
and departed from the room.
It was all over so quickly. We rode back to school,
arriving just in time for me to prepare for the football
game that night. MB
—SBG President Asher Kirschbaum, Junior
President Obama explains how the Twenty-First Century
Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 will help
millions of disabled Americans.
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