For some College Republicans who've contributed hours of volunteer time to the presidential campaign, there's only one way to celebrate Bush's victory: with more volunteering.
College Republicans from AU and around D.C. will spend Inauguration Day signing in guests, setting up events and directing parking, among other tasks.
For Jason Dombrowski, a freshman in the Schools of International Service and Public Affairs who helped guests find their seats at the Saluting Those Who Serve ceremony on Tuesday and the Celebration of Freedom on Wednesday, the chance to help with the inauguration is worth the sacrifices he's made with his time.
"[I] had to give up all my classes this week, because I can't pass up this opportunity. It's once-in-a-lifetime," he said.
Others also said they enjoy volunteering for the chance to be "a part of something this important," said AU College Republicans Treasurer Genevieve Frye.
"I know in 20 years, or however many more, wherever I am ... I'm going to look back and be able to say that I had a role in the president's victory and his second term in office," Frye said. "I can't pin a value on it. It's invaluable to me, because this is my passion."
The work also offers a chance to rub elbows with the very man she helped put in office.
"There's always the possibility that you might see a foreign dignitary or President Bush himself," Frye said.
Frye is one of about 30 College Republicans who registered to volunteer with the Presidential Inaugural Committee, a privately funded organization that runs the $40-million operation.
College Republicans President Mike Inganamort said that the AU group is the one to call when the party seeks volunteers.
"I think it's important for us to volunteer with [the Presidential Inaugural Committee] because they really need reliable, good, working people, and they can see from the work we've done with the campaigns that the AU College Republicans are the ones to get the job done," Inganamort said.
Inganamort is the vice chairman of the D.C. Federation of College Republicans, a regional organization of College Republicans at AU, Catholic, Georgetown and George Washington universities. He worked with Chairman Lee Roupas of GW to rally volunteers through the organization's listserv.
Inganamort said hundreds of College Republicans from the federation's schools are volunteering in inaugural events. Training sessions last weekend prepared them for their tasks and briefed them on security concerns.
Frye, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, said that she estimates one of the inaugural committee's general meetings last Sunday night drew about 1,000 people. The committee seemed pleasantly surprised by the turnout, she said.
The week has been full of opportunities for volunteers. The inaugural celebrations started Tuesday with the Saluting Those Who Serve ceremony, followed by a youth concert, America's Future Rocks Today. Another concert, "A Celebration of Freedom," was held Wednesday.
President Bush will be sworn in at noon today, followed by the parade at 2 p.m. Later that night, about 50,000 are expected to attend nine official inaugural balls from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Faith Sleeper, a senior in SIS who will also help guests "get where they need to go," at the inauguration is making a time commitment similar to that of Dombrowski and other College Republicans, but she says that it's a great way to celebrate the Republican victory to which she contributed.
"It's just so rewarding because we helped out a lot with the campaigns," she said. "We worked so hard, and we finally achieved what we wanted"
