Jenna Fabian, Seward Elementary 4th and 5th grade teacher reflects after personally meeting with President Obama when he visited Seward, Alaska, in September 2015:
Today’s experience was clearly one that I will never forget! My student, Samantha, and I had a great conversation on the way out to Exit Glacier after going through three different security checkpoints. We decided that we were going to be “sponges” and take every little bit in! We ended up meeting up with him twice. The second time included a conversation with him regarding how important National Parks are, and the amazing career of a teacher.
What moved me the most is the absolute poise that our President exemplified. He was beyond personable with his warm smile and continuous eye contact. This experience made me think of the amazing colleagues that I am in the company of each and every day, our amazing school district, and all of the incredible educators that are there for our Nation’s children each and every day. With all of these fantastic people at the forefront of my mind, it was an absolute honor to represent Seward area schools and the initiative of “Every Kid in a Park.”
The President asked Samantha what grade she was in upon first meeting him. Then, as he walked to meet others, we were escorted down a trail by a White House correspondent to the 1926 marker near the outwash plain so that we could wait to see the President again. There at the outwash plain, we met him again with all of his press. He stopped and talked with us more, and referenced how fortunate our school is to have so many opportunities to see Exit Glacier and the great outdoors. He continued in and discuss the Every Kid, Every Park initiative and how important it is for kids to see the outdoors. We heard about his fond memories of visiting Yellowstone as a child, which seemed to be such a great memory for him as evidenced by the warm look on his face when speaking about the National Park.
I appreciated that he thanked me for my dedication to kids, and noted that teaching is one of the most important careers.
On the ride back, Samantha said there were two things that struck her the most: she was speechless after the President gave her a hug! Before the President continued his hike, he gave her a box of Presidential M&M’s. She was quite excited and reassured me that she would never eat them!
A local photographer, Kalani Woodlock, donated a picture of Seward in the winter time. This picture was printed on metal and given to the President on behalf of Seward Schools. I wasn’t able to give it to him personally but his assistant took it, and assured me that he would get the gift.
