White House asks VCU to select student volunteers for Obama visit

Last weekend the White House contacted VCU on short notice looking for student volunteers to help coordinate a small visit by President Barack Obama.

The President’s bus stopped at Fire Station 9 in Chesterfield County last Wednesday after touring swing states North Carolina and Virginia. This small visit gave about a dozen VCU students a chance to assist with the event.

VCU senior Nikia Whigham was one of the selected students to volunteer for the event.

“This doesn’t happen all the time,” Whigham said. “You can’t be like, ‘Oh yeah, I volunteered for the President.’”

White House officials called Beth Ward, volunteer services coordinator, requesting for student volunteers. Mass emails were sent to specific departments that required interested students to email back if they fulfilled the requirements.

“The only thing I did in terms of screening was if (the student) didn’t give me the information I requested, I didn’t forward (the student’s) name,” said Dr. Timothy Reed, University Student Commons and Activities Director.

Requirements included a response with a social security number, passing security screening by the secret service and having open availability for the event as well as for the training meeting.

Reed said he was asked by the White House officials to send him the list of interested students in sequential order.

Since the White House made the final determinations, a little less than a dozen students were chosen from the 48 who were interested.

At the event, University of Richmond students were also amongst the crowd of student volunteers.

Whigham said aside from the secret service circling the parameters of the fire station, she was able to reach out and shake hands with the President.

“I was like … ‘I just shook hands with history,’” she said.

The volunteers were not allowed to talk to the media or discuss why they were volunteering.

“It was very serious,” said Whigham. “You couldn’t answer their question. You had to refer them to an actual White House official.”

The President’s one-hour visit was exclusive and not open to the public. Only people who were invited were allowed to attend the event. According to Whigham no more than 140 people were at the event, especially because the size of the location was so small.

“It didn’t seem like it was happening,” she said. “I don’t even think it became real to me until after it happened.”