Greenbrier eighth-grader will see president's inauguration
Jackson Noland will be among a select group of middleschoolers to attend President Bush's January inauguration in Washington, D.C.
The son of Barbara Noland, of Evans, and Sam Noland, of Douglasville, Ga., Jackson was chosen to participate in the inauguration as part of the Congressional Youth Leadership Conference's Junior Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference. He will attend an opening celebration of the inauguration at the National Mall, in addition to participating in a dinner and moonlight cruise on the Potomac after the inauguration ceremony.
"I think it will be pretty neat," Jackson, an eighth-grader at Greenbrier Middle School, said. "Not a lot of people get to do it."
Jackson was selected to attend this year's Junior Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference after his participation in 2003's Congressional Youth Leadership Conference. His social studies teacher, Becky Holley, nominated him for the 2003 conference.
"Jackson is very motivated and conscientious," Holley said. "Some students show a particular interest in a subject, and this is true of Jackson with regards to social studies. He has a natural desire to study history. I felt he would benefit from the conference and the experience in Washington, D.C."
Jackson Noland, an eighth-grader at Greenbrier Middle School, will participate in the inauguration of President Bush as part of the Congressional Youth Leadership Conference's Junior Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference. To be part of the conference this year, he had to know the candidates' stances on major election issues.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
To be selected for attendance at this year's conference, Jackson had to prove that he was knowledgeable on several issues facing Washington's politicians, namely homeland security, stem cell research, the war in Iraq and education.
According to Jackson's mother, he had to know both Bush's and Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry's stance on these issues.
"He had to at least be versed on these matters," she said.
Jackson's interest in American history makes him an ideal candidate for the Congressional Youth Leadership Conference. Students are broken into small groups where they are assigned a specific period in history. They then participate in group discussions about that period and visit related landmarks in the District of Columbia.
"I'm really interested in the history of our country," Jackson said. "I'm not sure if I'll go into politics, but I think it's something I can do."
Instead of politics, Jackson hopes to pursue a career in law.
Two of his grandfathers and his mother are in the profession, and he said he hopes to follow in their footsteps.