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Kociubinski did have the chance to watch President Barack Obama's inauguration speech at a National Press Club location in the National Mall. Although the university conference included some 5,000 students, she ended up in a room inside with only 20 to 30 people. Even so, she said, the excitement level was high as people from all over the country were electrified by the event, even watching it on a television screen.
"It was a unifying experience," 21-year-old Kociubinski said. "We were in a room with people from all over the country and out of the country."
Kociubinski, an Obama supporter during the campaign, said she was also impressed by the speech.
"I'm just amazed at how great a public speaker Obama is," she said.
The trip also involved much more than the inauguration itself. Students were able to attend several speeches and seminars in groups of about 250. Two of the ones Kociubinski attended were "Protecting the Environment: Green Issues and Innovations" with Frances Beinecke, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council and "What's Happening in Pop Culture: An Insider's Perspective" with Dalton Ross, Editor-At-Large of Entertainment Weekly.
Another seminar she attended - "Caught in the Crossfire" with Paul Begala, Democratic Strategist and CNN Political Contributor and Tucker Carlson, Senior Political Correspondent, MSNBC - really drove home a message to not give up on the political process and the administration," she said.
"Things inevitably will take a bad turn," Kociubinski said. "It's important to keep faith."
But overall Kociubinski left with a great impression that each speaker felt that today's youth has a great capacity to make a difference aided by skills in electronic social networking that can help people plan, discuss and mobilize.
She admits that some can get too caught up in online networking sites and other means of communication and that it should not replace human contact and community action. However, she said they are powerful tools.
"We should use them as tools not as substitutes," Kociubinski said.
Kociubinski said she is not hugely into politics but has become interested in using her interest in Science for the government.
She's not sure exactly what capacity that would be in but Kociubinski's next step is graduate school. She's applied to several but does not yet know where she will end up. She said she is learning toward concentrating in research and neuroscience.
Her love of science is also what led to the chance to take part in the inaugural events.
The trip was planned by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council for alumi/a of other leadership programs. In 2004, Kociubinski participated in the 2004 National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF) on Medicine.
Kociubinski said the Jan. 17 to 21 conference was a bit hectic and tiring but offered a chance to connect with people from all backgrounds from many parts of the country and world. And although that involved people of all ages she still left with the sense that her generation will continue to make a difference.
"We're the voices of the future," Kociubinski said.
