UD student invited to President Obama's speech on health care reform
Sergio Olaya
UDaily is produced by Communications and Marketing
The Academy Building
105 East Main Street
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716 • USA
Phone: (302) 831-2792
email: ocm@udel.edu
www.udel.edu/ocm

3:36 p.m., Sept. 10, 2009----A University of Delaware senior, Sergio Olaya, was among a group of private citizens invited to sit in the gallery during President Barack Obama's address on health care reform Wednesday evening, Sept. 9, to the Joint Session of Congress.

THIS STORY
Email E-mail
Delicious Print
Twitter

The group of guests included those who have struggled with the high cost of health care and were denied coverage or had to pay prohibitive amounts for care. They included six cancer patients, a Vietnam veteran and the uninsured father of a child who had seizures.

The group sat with Michelle Obama.

Olaya's mother, Clara, who was born in Colombia and was a U.S. citizen, had been working at the Centers for Disease Control, reaching out to the Hispanic and Latino communities.

While she was between federal jobs, she could not afford to pay for COBRA continuation health coverage while supporting Olaya in college. Then, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain tumor and was unable to work and receive coverage.

She died shortly thereafter but her medical bills had skyrocketed to $255,000, and Olaya was forced to sell the family home to pay the bills.

Although hardships were the common thread that united the group of guests, Olaya said it was huge honor to be invited to be in the gallery and to watch history being made. “The ambience and being there in person cannot be matched,” he said.

Olaya was first contacted Tuesday afternoon, and his invitation became official Wednesday morning. He went to the White House in the afternoon, talked to people in the external affairs office and gave a few interviews to Spanish newswires.

The group then was taken to the Capitol that evening.

After the speech, Michelle Obama shook his hand and said she was sorry he had been through so much hardship.

Jill Biden, who also was seated in the gallery, welcomed him and said she was pleased to have a UD student present. Both Jill Biden and her husband, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., are UD graduates.

Olaya also talked with Victoria Kennedy, widow of the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy, who was a strong supporter of health care reform. “I had worked as a U.S. Senate elevator operator while my mother's estate was under probate and used to see Sen. Kennedy frequently and played with his Portuguese dogs. Mrs. Kennedy was very compassionate about my mother as Ted Kennedy had the same kind of cancer,” Olaya said.

After his mother's estate was settled, Olaya, who also worked on the staff of U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin for six months, returned to UD to finish his degree.

A political science major, he said UD is a great fit for him. After graduation in January, he said he hopes to get an internship or job in government.

Article by Sue Moncure
Photo courtesy of Sergio Olaya

close