Metro Student Goes to Presidential Inauguration

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DENVER — Jesse Griego, 22 a Metropolitan State University junior, got the opportunity of a lifetime last month when his mother, Lily Griego, was chosen to be a Citizen Co-Chair at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration.

Like any young adult, Griego felt star struck when faced with some of the celebrities who attended the inauguration. Ricky Martin, Angela Bassett, Jaime Foxx, Kerry Washington and John Mayer were just a few stars Griego saw himself.

Griego was his mother’s “plus one” after an inaugural committee hand-picked his mother as one of the eight citizens chosen to represent President Barack Obama’s first term. Having worked as a canvasser in North Denver to get voters to vote, Ms. Griego also introduced the President at his speech at Sloan’s Lake after the first debate.

As a single mother who got her Masters and Bachelor’s degrees in education, Ms. Griego was just the woman to be put into the pool of nearly 6,000 names. Once selected, the flight and hotel were all reserved, a schedule was laid out and the two Griegos left Colorado for Washington, D.C.

“As soon as we got off the plane everything was scheduled. We did so much!” Griego said.

Griego on seeing his celeb crush Katy Perry at the Inauguration:

“Katy Perry was tough to take a picture of with all her body guards, but my mom got a picture of her anyway!”

HAIL TO THE CHIEF: A picture of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama taken by Griego at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration in Washington D.C.

Though Griego admits he hates politics, he described his opportunity to go to D.C. as an eye opening experience that exposed a lot of new things for him. The nation’s capital that holds so much history, including the heart of the political system, and seeing a man inaugurated with similar beliefs to Griego made the trip more of an experience.

“D.C. is pretty big but all the touristy bits are in one area, so that part is pretty compact,” Griego said.

Griego and his mother are avid museum buffs, so having the opportunity to go to some of the several Smithsonian Museums in D.C. was “a real treat.” Griego described the map of D.C. he and his mother used to get around as a piece of paper no bigger than an iPad that showed everything the Griegos wanted to see.

“There’s a whole lot more to see,”Griego said when asked if he’d do it all again.

Griego said it was freezing and that if he even went again he’d bring more layers or a bigger coat to fight off the bitter cold. He said it was all worth it, being exposed to new things and being a part of something bigger.

Griego says spending more time his mother was his favorite part of the journey. “With our different schedules we don’t get to hang out a lot, so even though it was a hectic, even chaotic, four days, it was fun to spend it with my mom.”