When Ebony Patterson attended President Barack Obama's first inauguration, she was in the fifth grade.
According to NBC news, Ebony Patterson, 16, has been invited to attend the president's second inauguration.
Ebony was among the 1,900 students around the nation who were invited based on on how well they have done in school and their leadership abilities. Ebony was one of 70 students invited from Virginia.
The students received a five-day trip to the capital to take part in the High School Presidential Inaugural Conference, a program that provides students with a deeper understanding of the history behind the electoral process and the traditions surrounding the presidential inauguration.
An honor student, Ebony belongs to a number of school clubs while balancing her time at a cosmetology program off campus. She says standing out is something people should be proud of.
Ebony says:
"You can't follow the crowd. You always have to be yourself do what you think is best you can't follow everyone else."
While in D.C., the conference will hold a number of events including a speech by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the 66th secretary of state, and Wesley Clark, a retired four-star general who commanded NATO.
Ebony said about Rice:
"She's an African American lady who's very intelligent and who's doing [well] for herself and I want to be like that too."
Condoleezza Rice was just hired by CBS as a news contributor.
Ebony's guidance counselor Constance Jones gave the reason she nominated Ebony:
"She has initiative and persistence and when she seeks out to do something and she's determined to do it Ebony will be successful."
Ebony and other Inaugural scholars will participate in numerous educational activities, including presentations by keynote speakers Dr. Condoleeza Rice, the 66th secretary of state, and Wesley Clark, a retired four-star general who commanded NATO.
Condoleeza Rice has just been hired as a CBS news contributor.
While in Washington, D.C., Patterson said she will get to attend the inauguration and inaugural ball. One of the things that she said that she's looking forward to most during the week is meeting new people.
Patterson said that she found out she would be going to the inauguration in May before the election. So, she would have gone no matter who the president would have been.
Ebony's family, friends and church helped her raise the $3,000 need for her 5-day stay in the nation's capital.
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