Washington Program Activities Honor Black History Month

Wednesday’s Washington Program honored Black History Month with on- and off-campus experiences both educational and inspiring.
Freshmen and seniors visited the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C. NMAAHC opened to the public in September and is the only national museum dedicated exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. Sophomores and juniors visited the museum earlier in the year.

Juniors broke off into their US History classes and, led by their teachers, participated in a variety of experiences. Students visited the Russell Senate Office Building, the Frederick Douglass House, and Howard University. Others went on walking tours of Alexandria’s Old Town and Washington, D.C.’s U. Street Corridor, locations rich in African American history.

Sophomores stayed on campus for a talk from and discussion with Reggie Love, former special assistant and personal aide to Barack Obama. Love talked to the students about the path that led him from his childhood in North Carolina to a front row seat in the White House, sharing fun memories from his time as Obama’s personal aide, along with many of the lessons he learned along the way.
 
Love recalled a story from the earliest days of his career on Capitol Hill, when he was a staff assistant – the lowest position on the totem pole – for Senator Obama. He volunteered to look into ways to help the senator address his backlog of mail, and introduced a digitized system that allowed the office to process mail faster than they ever had before. Although an admittedly uncomplicated system, Love realized that in that moment of initiative, he “had his first opportunity to really show value.”
 
From there, he was promoted to deputy political director, and when Obama decided to run for president he asked Love, just 23 years old, to “go on the road with him and take care of stuff.” What followed was the “journey of a lifetime” — two years of life on the road, as he traversed the campaign trail with Obama, travelling for 26 days of each month.
 
When Obama won the presidency, Love became his special assistant and personal aide. People often ask Love how he got the job. Was he from Chicago? No. Had his parents donated to the campaign? No. “The only thing I could do was work hard and see opportunity in the small things,” Love said.
 
He talked to the students about the importance of hard work, passion, and commitment to team, something he learned as a student-athlete at Duke University under Mike Krzyzewski. “There are so many things that you can do to be part of a team. Everyone’s not going to be able to score the ball. Somebody’s got to set the screen. Someone’s got to dive for the loose ball. Someone’s got to inbound it. Someone’s got to rebound it. ” Love said. “There are all these things you can do to be part of a team and not often do those stats show up on the box score. And that was the reason why I think President Obama put so much trust and faith in me. He knew that whatever job or task I was given, I was always going to show up with energy and excitement. He knew that I wanted to be part of a team and to help that team grow.”
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