Danny Aviles is a Part of History!
Who is Danny Aviles? Well, he is a charter member of MCU’s recently established Youth Advisory Committee, a group of five students organized to help us reach out to and better serve the financial education needs of the young people in our MCU community. They are all future leaders and not surprisingly, they lead by example.
Take Danny for example. At the ripe old age of seventeen, Danny Aviles is already a seasoned hand at multitasking. He balances school work, his many volunteer activities and involvement in his local community center. Because of his excellence in scholarship and demonstrated leadership skills Danny was selected to participate in the Congressional Youth Leadership Council’s Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference. And, yes, on January 20, 2008 he got to attend the inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama—the first African American to be elected to that office. In years to come when people talk about that historic day, Danny can say, “I was there.”
The students invited to attend the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference are outstanding young people from across the country and around the world. The conference, which takes place once every four years in January following the presidential election, provides them with a terrific opportunity to learn about government first hand. This year in addition to participating in seminars on how our government works, they heard keynote addresses by an extraordinary roster of leaders on the world stage including former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell, the founder of America’s Promise Alliance, former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner, Al Gore, and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and human rights activist.
They also got to attend the rock concert at the National Mall where they heard music legends Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, and other greats such as Jon Bon Jovi, John Legend, Shakira and James Taylor—not a bad lineup. Finally, the five day conference ended for these lucky students with a black tie gala inaugural ball, and sent them on their way with many new friends from all over the nation and with memories to last a life time.
How could Danny afford the $2,500 it cost to attend the conference? He saved up the money by working over the summer at three different jobs so he could take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity. Danny understands the importance of having a savings strategy as a regular part of his life, and the value of planning. This also makes him an excellent role model for other students about why having a good financial education is an important life strategy for success.
We asked Danny to share his most memorable inauguration day moment with us and he said, “Being so close to the Capitol in a sea of people witnessing history… and being a part of it”.
Yes, indeed, Danny Aviles is a part of history, and we thank him for sharing his wonderful story with us.
