Nelson was a 1991 classmate of Calderon’s at the John Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The new president invited his former classmates to the December 1 swearing-in ceremony.
The mid-career educational program involves 200 students in various fields, including public service, law and medicine. Half of the students are from countries outside the United States, says Nelson, who serves as the Indian child welfare social services supervisor for St. Louis County.
While at the Kennedy School, Calderon was one of the leaders of Mexico’s National Action Party (NAP), which won its first presidential election in 2000 when Vicente Fox took office. It was the first time in 70 years that the opposition party had been elected to the office of president, which is limited to one term of six years. Calderon is the party’s second president.
Nelson and others first received a preliminary inaugural invitation through an email message. He received the official invitation after background security checks were completed.
“When the chance first came up, I was excited for him, but I didn’t think about going,” Nelson says. He changed his mind, however, when he considered the historical moment. In the end, 27 of his classmates attended, including a top advisor on the Middle East for the U.S. State Department.
Nelson and his classmates never expected to actually meet with the president because of his busy schedule. “That was special enough in itself that he would be mindful of his classmates.”
On the evening of the inauguration, the president hosted leaders from around the world at the official party. The next night, when Nelson and his friends returned to their hotel after dinner, they learned they had been invited to Los Pinos, the Mexican White House. They had only 15 minutes to get ready before vans came to pick them up.
The group still had no idea of what the evening would be like. “We didn’t know if we would see him for five minutes or if other people were coming,” Nelson says. But Calderon came with his wife and mingled with everyone for two hours.
Most of the discussions revolved around family and were typical of class reunions, Nelson says. Calderon did give a brief address, though. “He was a very gracious speaker and he talked about what he wanted to do to help the people of Mexico.”
Nelson was able to present a letter of congratulations from the Duluth mayor. Calderon and the rest of the class also posed together for a group picture.
The Mexican leader was as unassuming at the reception as when he attended the Kennedy School. “When you’re there, you forget that you’re with the president of a country of 100 million people,” Nelson observes.
They were reminded of that, however, when Calderon took them on a tour of his office, the equivalent of the Oval Office.
Nelson says he will continue to pray for Calderon. “He’s a very principled man.”
