She describes it as a “monumental moment in our nation’s history.”
And she was there to see it in person. Lindsay Lamb, a junior statistics major, was one of the two-million-plus folks who witnessed President Barack Obama’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20.
“It [Obama’s election] has opened doors not only for different races, but more importantly for people from all walks of life, including women, gays and lesbians, various religious views and the disabled,” says Lamb, who was invited to attend as one of 5,000 Presidential Inaugural Scholars.
She says while she enjoyed the president’s speech, the bond between the people in the crowd was more important to her. “I huddled with strangers on the National Mall from 2 a.m. until Obama’s speech. I’ll always remember the spirit in the air … people were caring, compassionate, warm, inviting and hopeful.”
As a Presidential Inaugural Scholar, Lamb attended conferences given by former secretary of state Gen. Colin Powell, former vice president Al Gore and political pundits James Carville and Mary Matalin along with the director of marketing for JIVE Records and a managing editor for Entertainment Weekly.
Lamb used her time to network and landed interviews for internships with Forbes magazine and Sony Music; she got offers from both.
She chose Sony and says she’s been able to see “the hard, behind-the-scenes work. I watched the release of the new Fray album [a band from Colorado] and saw how much work goes into creating and marketing a No. 1 album.”
Lamb’s looking at graduate programs and eventually hopes to work in sales and promotions in the music or fashion industries.
Her advice for her fellow students and other young people is to “always carry a copy of your resume and never be afraid to ask for someone’s contact information. The worst that can happen is they say no.”