On Monday my coworkers and I got an email saying our schedules had been checked and we were free to volunteer the day of commencement so our boss signed us up. yes, we were volunteered. no choice. And we were given notice that there would be training on Tuesday night at 7:30pm. None of us could attend because we are all attending high school awards nights this week.
So Tuesday, I get to my office and I have a voicemail and an email telling me I have been chosen as a lead volunteer. I find out that I have been selected to be in charge of a group of about 8 people and will be responsible for one of the main entrances into the event. Again I mention that I can't attend training and therefore might not be the best choice for being a lead, but they assure me one of my volunteers will attend training and fill me in. Ok cool.
Now it is Wednesday, and I have to be at the stadium by noon, to start leading my group at 1pm because guests start showing up at 1:30. I made sure that I was prepared for the sun, and the long hours. hat? check. cool clothing? check. Water? check. sunscreen? check. check me out!
I was in charge of the Rio Salado/Packard Drive intersection, which was definitely a main entrance. I told my team that our main duty was to welcome everyone to the university and thank them for attending. We were also to answer any questions and keep an eye out for any blatant contraband that people might be asked to throw away at the entrance (things like umbrellas, stadium seat cushions, big bags, etc).
my group was really great! we all had a lot of fun, and from about 1-6pm we were working our intersection, drinking as much water as possible, and reapplying sunscreen. For the most part people responded well to our cheery dispositions, but more than a few guests were cranky from the very beginning.
Yes it was very hot, and tiring, and hot. but check this out! I got to see Air Force One as it landed!
And once I got to get into the stadium I saw the motorcade as it drove up.
and secret service and SWAT teams keeping eagle eyes on the event
Here are some pictures from the largest graduation ceremony in the history of the US!
The only sad thing was that after Obama's speech, the stadium cleared out and the event wasn't even half over.
I stayed until almost the end because Obama even commissioned all of the ROTC officers from all of the in state schools! and our Army ROTC commander is retiring this year, and his son is one of the cadets being commissioned in this pictures. so so cool!
At the end of the night we all had to wait for the motorcade to pass before we could leave the stadium parking lot
My camera isn't good enough at night, but I promise those are the remnants of the lights of the president's car!
It was such a cool event, and Obama had such a great and inspiring speech. he was even really funny. he poked fun at our lack of an honorary degree saying he learned a very important lesson: he will never again pick another team over the devils in his NCAA bracket, and the university will soon know what it is like to be audited by the IRS. hahahaha
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