A Swansea University student has been invited to attend the inauguration of Senator Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States of America.

Nicola Bolton (20), from Worcester, is in the second year of her Joint Honours degree in American Studies and Geography.  She has been chosen to represent Swansea University and the UK at a University Presidential Inaugural Conference (UPIC) in January 2009.

The conference aims to provide scholars from around the world with a deeper understanding of the history behind the US electoral process and the rich traditions surrounding the presidential inauguration.

During the five-day event, Nicola will have the opportunity to meet White House officials, congressional staff members, political experts and a major presidential candidate, as well as other VIPs, including former Vice-President Al Gore, Colin Powell, cyclist Lance Armstrong and Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

After witnessing the inauguration, Nicola will then experience the grandeur of the inaugural parade as the President, Vice-President and the families make their way down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol Building to the White House.

Nicola said: "I am delighted and very excited to have received this invitation. To be able to attend any inauguration is an opportunity of a lifetime, but this particular inauguration is set to be one of the defining moments of American history.

"The election of President-elect Obama has captivated the minds of people around the world and I feel extremely privileged to be able to attend his inauguration."

Nicola was chosen to join students from around the world at the event after she attended a Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) in Washington DC and New York in 2005, where she represented the United Kingdom and was noticed for her participation and level of involvement.

The GYLC is a leadership development program that brings together outstanding young people from around the world to build critical leadership skills in a global context.

"The invitation came completely out of the blue, and I have no idea how many other UK students will be lucky enough to be at the inauguration," says Nicola, "I really wasn't expecting anything more to come of the Conference, although my experience of the GLYC was the main reason I decided to take up American Studies.

"Attending the inauguration will cost me a fortune, but how can you turn down an opportunity like this?"

Professor Jon Roper is Director of the Department of American Studies' US Study Abroad Office in the University's School of Humanities. He said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for Nicola. The eyes of the world will be on Barack Obama's inauguration and being able to witness the event first hand will be an unforgettable experience.

"Nicola is a deserving recipient of the invitation. I am also delighted that she will be representing Swansea University at the conference and we look forward to hearing about her experiences."

Swansea University is one of the leading centres for American Studies in the UK and offers a wide range of courses in American literature, history and politics and popular culture at both the undergraduate and graduate level. For further information, please visit the Department's website.  

Further information about the University Presidential Inaugural Conference can be found at www.inauguralscholar.com .

Further information about the Global Young Leaders Conference can be found at http://www.cylc.org/gylc/