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Feb. 10, 2023
桃瘾社区 Students Excited to Be in the Room Where It Happened
Some 桃瘾社区 students experienced what might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on Thursday when the president of the United States spoke on campus.听
桃瘾社区 students waited outside Plant Hall to see the motorcade arrive. Photo by Jessica Leigh
Some 桃瘾社区 students experienced what might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on Thursday when the president of the United States spoke on campus.听
Alicia Ambra 鈥26, a political science and international studies major, was one of about 75 students who volunteered during the event and was later invited to listen to President Joe Biden speak in Plant Hall鈥檚 Fletcher Lounge.听听
Ambra helped White House officials check in VIP guests.听She said that seeing what goes on behind the scenes was a unique experience, and following the speech, she was able to take a selfie with the president.
About 75 students volunteered for the event.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe I was actually in the room with him!鈥 she said.
Other students were selected to attend the speech based on their roles in student government and involvement in the All In for Democracy Coalition.听
Mary Anderson, a political science professor and co-chair of the coalition, said it was a tremendous honor to extend an invitation to two students.听
鈥淚 think our students have worked really hard on the behalf of promoting democracy and working to register students to vote and getting them to vote,鈥 she said.听
鈥淭hey understand how important democracy is and how important voting is to the democratic process, and so for them to be able to listen to the president of the United States is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.鈥澨
Will Arnold, who got his bachelor鈥檚 degree in political science in 2022 and is now in the instructional design and technology graduate program,听is one of the students whom Anderson invited.听听
鈥淭his opportunity provides me and the wider 桃瘾社区 community, regardless of political affiliation, the chance to come together and be inspired by an individual who has accomplished extraordinary things, shown dedication and provided years of service across the course of his career,鈥 Arnold said.
Arnold also mentioned Biden鈥檚 personal story of loss and perseverance and how students can learn from it.
鈥淚t reminds us as students just starting our journeys that we are capable of great things if we are dedicated, respectful of others, and remain resilient through challenges,鈥 he said.听
More than 100 students who did not attend the event in person still watched the speech on the big screen at the Riseman Aquatic Center.
鈥淏eing able to watch this [speech] outside at the pool really describes Florida living at 桃瘾社区,鈥 said听Antonio Cardenas 鈥25. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a real sense of unity among everyone here. It doesn鈥檛 matter what your politics are.鈥澨
Some students had the chance to take a selfie with President Biden following the event. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Russell Krebs
As for Anderson, she intends to bring what she learned Thursday back to her classes.
She teaches political psychology, which discusses political leaders and the venues they speak in, the topics they talk about and the history that made them the person they are.
鈥淧resident Biden鈥檚 history is not a secret one 鈥 everyone knows the hardships he has had and what he has come back from, and that makes him very relatable to a lot of people,鈥 she said.
Anderson experienced his relatability firsthand when she met the president prior to his taking the stage.
鈥淗e was personable and genuinely interested in meeting all of us representing the University of Tampa,鈥 she said. 鈥淩egardless of party identification, it was a tremendous honor for our campus to be selected to host the president of the United States.鈥
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