Benjamin Nelson, Lake Villa
Grayslake North High School freshman Benjamin Nelson has a ticket to President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, but it wasn't through luck of the draw in a politician's office.
Nelson's academic achievement, leadership ability and interest in global citizenship were why the People to People Leadership Program selected him. He'll watch the festivities from the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. "When I got the letter, I was absolutely thrilled," said Nelson, 14, a Lake Villa resident. "And that was before Barack got in." Mary Jean Eisenhower, granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, gave the invitation to Nelson. President Eisenhower founded People to People in 1956, hoping different cultures could gather in peace and friendship.