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Bryant teen witnesses history |
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Tuesday, 20 January 2009 |
He’s just 16 and has already traveled to 37 countries. Today, however, Chance A. Kidd is experiencing history in his own country.
Kidd is among the hundreds of thousands of people in Washing-ton, D.C., to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama as our nation’s 44th president.
His mother, Madeline Kidd of Bryant, said her son’s luck of traveling the world and today’s witnessing of the inauguration all began when he was 11 and en-rolled at Subiaco Academy in Subiaco in west Arkansas.
Madeline Kidd said her son chose the school west of Clarks-ville for college preparation. He then became involved in an organization called People to People Student Ambassador Program out of Spokane, Wash. The organization offers educational international travel opportunities to elementary, middle and high school students.
“He came to me about going on a trip to Europe and found they could help pay the way, but he still needed a few thousand to go,” Madeline said.
“That is when he got a hold of a list of members of the Benton and Bryant chambers of commerce. He started writing down phone numbers and making phone calls to raise money for the trip. He was able to raise $3,800.”
Madeline Kidd said her son was not only able to travel to Europe five years ago, but he also made a return trip the following year thanks to another program. After coming home from Europe in 2003, he joined the Tiger Wood’s Start Something program and described his fundraising project for his first trip to Europe as his 10-week module.
“He used previous articles in the Courier to show his success,” Madeline Kidd said. “After he turned in his work, they awarded him the full amount of his trip to Europe. He decided to use the money to return with the people to people program for another trip to Europe.”
In early 2008, Madeline said Chance recieved a special invitation in the mail to join in the 2009 inauguration. She said they booked the vacation plans for Chance in May, before they even knew that history would be made today as Obama becomes the first black president.
“They are offered a lot of trips every year through the People to People program,” Madeline said. “When he saw the trip to the inauguration, he knew that was an activity he definitely wanted to do. We made the plans before knowing that it would be Obama and luckily avoided some of the amount of money they are now charging for the trip. We save money on the airlines alone by booking it so early.”
Madeline didn’t tell how much they spent to send her son to the nation’s capital today, but said it was well over $2,000. She said she is just happy for her son to witness history and proud of his accomplishments.
“I don’t know where he gets it, his brain is just so far advanced,” Madeline said. “He wanted to go to the Subiaco Academy to distinguish himself and he already has plans of what he wants to do in life.”
Madeline said Chance hopes to attend Stanford University in California for pre-law after he graduates from Subiaco. He then plans to travel to the East Coast to attend another university for law school, she said, and someday he hopes to become a criminal defense attorney.
In the meantime, Chance will join the People to People Presidential Inauguration program for the swearing-in of Obama and will witness his inaugural address live in Washington D.C.
According to the Web site, www.peopletopeople.com, the presidential inauguration program also provides participants a chance to gain insight into American leaders throughout history during discussions with political experts, access to the U.S. Capitol and National Archives, exploration of the newly reopened National Museum of American History and visits to Washington’s treasured monuments and memorials.
The Web site also said, “The program is coordinated by People to People Leadership Programs to fulfill the vision of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had for fostering world citizenship when he founded People to People during his presidency in 1956.”
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