This afternoon Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti made a trip to Champaign to meet with Ms. Ellis’ social studies class at Barkstall Elementary. The students in the class wrote letters to her asking about her role in government and instead of writing a canned reply, the Lt. Governor decided to stop in and meet the students personally.
Personal politics aside, the Lt. Governor was warm and comfortable with the children as she talked about her life as a young person. She was born in Miami to very young parents and talked about how she loved music and writing and that’s how she became a lawyer. She described a few of her responsibilities as the Lt. Governor and then opened the floor for questions.
The elementary students asked some pretty heavy hitters like “What is your favorite sport?” (fast-paced walking) and “Do you have animals?” (she has three: Tweety the bird, Sweetie the Spaniel, and Taco the Calico cat). It was rather adorable watching her interact with youngsters and trying to leave political rhetoric aside, although she did mention that she was in the business of problem solving and kept telling the children that her job is to create jobs for them in the State of Illinois.
The class presented Sanguinetti with a few souvenirs and she took pictures with the students before heading out. All in all, a really cool experience for those involved and good on the Lt. Governor for taking the time out of her busy schedule to talk to the future of the United States.