By Kristine Milbrandt

What started as reluctantly attending the career fair last year turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a Wartburg student.

Bethany McAtee ’14 of Coggon won the opportunity to attend the Jan. 21 inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington D.C.

“It was unreal to know that I was in the same place as the president of the United States, and to hear his speech in person was amazing,” McAtee said.

How McAtee obtained a pair of tickets to the inauguration goes back nearly a year ago to March 2012.

McAtee, who said she is passionate about politics, had to attend the Wartburg career fair last spring as a class requirement.

After stopping by the table for U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley’s office, she applied for a summer internship and was ultimately hired.

“My job was to answer phone calls from constituents and record their information and their issue or concern and send it on to whomever on Braley’s staff was responsible for that particular topic,” McAtee said. “I also sent out mail, worked on grant recommendations, and did any other task that the other staff members needed me to do.

The job proved to be very important to McAtee, who wanted to see if her interest in politics could turn into a career. She supported and worked to help him get re-elected.

“I knew that since it was an election year, this would be the best time to experience that process firsthand,” McAtee said. “I liked having this job because I felt like I was actually making a difference in the lives of the constituents.”

Though McAtee said she learned a lot about the workings of the U.S. government, she also learned the challenges that come in politics.

“Even though I have strong political views, I had to be unbiased when talking to constituents who didn’t necessarily share those views,” McAtee said. “[But] I gained a respect for our lawmakers and other elected officials. I realize that most people think they are out of touch with their constituents, but I’ve come to find out that our congressmen are happy to speak to us anytime.”

Months after her internship had ended, McAtee, who follows Braley on Facebook and Twitter, saw that he was having a drawing to give away tickets to the inauguration. Each congressman, McAtee said, receives a certain number of tickets.

“I entered the drawing for fun, thinking that there was no way I would win,” McAtee said. “I found out a month before the inauguration that I had won, and my parents offered to pay for the trip, since it’s an opportunity that I might not get again.”

McAtee chose to bring her mother, Christine, with her to Washington. The two were invited to a reception following the inauguration in the company of all the Iowa congressmen.

McAtee, who had never been to Washington D.C. before, said the event was “very uplifting.”

“The inauguration itself was inspiring,” McAtee said. “The atmosphere was very charged and energetic. Everyone was just so happy and thankful to get to be there to experience the event.”

McAtee doesn’t know about a career in politics after graduation after finding out how difficult it was during her internship. She works as a video producer at Wartburg and would like to continue in the field of production.