Forward.

As President Obama’s second inauguration (hopefully featuring a second fabulous hat) approaches, it’s a good time to reflect on how lucky I was to be a member of the Kellogg community during this important time in our country’s history.

In the months leading up to the election, Kellogg offered a multitude of ways to engage in the discussions surrounding November 6. The Healthcare Club hosted a panel outlining what could be expected in terms of health care reform, depending on the outcome of the election. The Public Policy Club sponsored a debate-watching event, featuring instant polling and analysis by Kellogg Professor Adam Waytz. Student Affairs hosted an election night reception where students could mingle with Deans Sally Blount and Betsy Ziegler while watching the election results roll in.

On the home front, my roommate and I hosted a debate-watching party for the third and final Presidential debate, complete with Romney-ritas and Barack Bellinis (we were pretty pleased with ourselves). And then, the weekend before the election, I filled up my car with gas, picked up four other second-year Kellogg students and drove to Ohio!

Get Out The Vote was alive and well at Kellogg. Students supporting both Presidential campaigns rallied and drove out to key states nearby – Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio – you name the state, and Kellogg was there. I was proud to join over 70 Kellogg students in Toledo to get the vote out in support of President Obama. This impressive turnout was entirely due to Carrol Chang, a JD-MBA Kellogg student who was at Obama Headquarters in Toledo all of fall quarter working on the campaign.  In her “spare time,” she emailed, called, and cajoled all 70+ students to make the 5-hour trip and spend a day or two knocking on doors of undecided voters.

Our cumulative hard work paid off and, for our volunteer efforts, we were rewarded with the opportunity to attend the election night party at McCormick Place, where President Obama gave his victory speech. Words cannot possibly do justice to the excitement of the evening – being with thousands of people, standing for hours, waiting for the election results to come in and then being in the same (very, very large) room where the re-elected 44th President of the United States addressed the crowd. Being with dozens of Kellogg students (many of them scattered around the enormous convention center), was simply icing on the cake.