Jenna Bush Hager has multiple interests

CINDY WOOD/independent feature writer

She’s a “Today” show correspondent, a teacher, a twin, and she’s one of only two people in the world who can say her father and grandfather have both served as Presidents of the United States of America.

Jenna Bush Hager’s resume doesn’t stop there. She’s also a globally-active UNICEF ambassador, a New York Times best-selling author, and an amazingly down-to-earth southern girl whose sense of humor was unashamedly evident during her lecture at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center Tuesday evening.

Addressing life after the White House, Bush Hager told the audience the former president and first lady’s life had remained relatively the same, with a few exceptions.

“With no White House staff, the conversation has changed from international policy to that of a more domestic kind,” Bush Hager said. “Yes, my mom is now commanding the ex-commander-in-chief to pick up his dirty towels and underwear off of the floor.”

Bush Hager spoke fondly of her parents, but also managed to have a little fun at their expense. “I’m not sure if any of you have a librarian for a mother, but honestly, it seemed the fun would just never stop at times,” she said sarcastically, adding that her husband, whom she met while on the campaign trail for her father, often emails her facts about each city she will be speaking in.

“I don’t know if you know, and I’m sure you probably do know, that Van Wert is home to the first county library in the United States,” she said, which drew a raucous round of applause from the audience. “He made sure to ‘cc’ my mother on that one.”

Despite the bits of humor at times, Bush Hager’s love and affection for her family was forefront as she spoke of the admiration and respect she felt for her parents. “I was so inspired to witness their work for social justice, women’s rights, education and literacy,” she said, adding “they showed us what they wanted us to see, told us how we could do something about it and left it up to us to decide how we could bring a little light into a sometimes dark world.”

For Bush Hager, that meant education and making life-long learners out of children who were growing up in extreme disadvantage. A teacher of inner-city children, Bush Hager praised America’s educators throughout her lecture and said education can, in some cases, save lives.

“Ask any teacher and they will tell you that teaching takes a lot out of you,” she said. “But after trying to herd thirty kids on the metro subway for a field trip, or mopping up a student’s half-digested Lucky Charms all before seven a.m., I was rewarded with the joy and eternal optimism you can only learn when seen through the eyes of a child. By the end of my first year teaching, my kids had given me that gift that every teacher wishes for in some small way,” she added.

Bush Hager remarked that she has full intentions of returning to the classroom, but the opportunity to become a correspondent for the “Today” show was one that would allow her to bring stories of remarkable courage and optimism to the American public.

Most recently, Bush Hager covered the story of America’s Camp, a non-profit organization that brings together children who suffered extreme loss on 9/11. Covering the 10-year anniversary, Bush Hager spent time interviewing 7-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 4-year-olds who had lost one, or in some cases, both of their parents that day. She also spoke of her family’s journey to the 9/11 memorial last year, and what it meant to her to see the vast empty space where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood.

“That day is one we will all remember. We will remember where we were, and who we were with, and those images will stay engrained in our minds forever,” Bush Hager said. “As the Twin Towers fell that day, we lost so much, so many, but for the twenty-five hundreds kids who lost parents that day, their entire world was changed forever.”

At America’s Camp, Bush Hager listened as the children spoke of their mothers and fathers who had left for work, and never returned home. “One little boy told me how his father wasn’t supposed to go to work that day so he could take him to his first day of school,” Bush Hager said. “But his father very quickly received the call to report to work. He phoned his home and left a message that he had been called into work. That something big was happening and to turn on the television. Before he hung up, he asked his son to call him and tell him how his first day of school went. His father never came home that day. These were the professionals, the firefighters, the first responders. These were the men and women who are the epitome of service, and all that is good in our country.”

Bush Hager’s desire to “turn a light on in a sometimes dark world” has taken her outside of the country as well. Inspired by many of the immigrant children she taught, she spent time volunteering globally for UNICEF, an effort that exposed her to “Ana,” a young Latin American girl whose family was decimated by HIV/AIDS. Born with HIV herself, Ana was soon orphaned and shuffled in and out of homes, and suffered physical and sexual abuse throughout her entire young life. Moved by Ana’s plight and her willingness to survive the disease, Bush Hager spent months interviewing the girl and soon turned it into the best-selling book, Ana’s Story — A Story of Hope.

“Ana represents the 2.3 million children around the world who are living with HIV,” Bush Hager said. “Ana knows that this is the situation in her life, but she chooses to fight and live, and she is living the best she can.

Bush Hager concluded the speech by thanking those in attendance for doing anything they can to make their community a better place. “I hope something I’ve said today inspires just one person to act,” she said. “Whether you pledge your time, your money, or you teach, or sponsor a team, or collect canned food for the hungry, there are things you can all do to help others. Life is a precious gift and an opportunity to share some part of yourself with someone in need.”