When he came home from Air Force ROTC field training on Aug. 6, Christian Bills, ’18, did not anticipate receiving an acceptance letter to the Presidential Inauguration Leadership Summit program, which will allow him to attend the presidential inauguration, on Jan. 20, 2017.
The program will allow him to attend the inauguration of the 45th president, Donald Trump, listen to well-known speakers, and participate in events that will help him grow as a leader.
“Going to see the inauguration is going to be an incredible experience, but what I was mainly interested about was participating in the leadership summit,” Bills said.
Bills has spent all three of his years at Saint Joseph’s University in the Air Force ROTC program. Since childhood, Bills has wanted to be in the military.
According to Bills, he wants to be able to serve his country and save those who need it most.
“It [ROTC] gave me the chance to do something that was bigger than myself,” Bills said. “I get to work with a really diverse group of people and it’s just something I’ve been really passionate about in the military. It was the best of both worlds and [it] kind of came together.”
His Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Lim, describes Bills as “very internally motivated.”
“I think just being part of the inauguration and seeing how that side of the government works will really give him a good perspective of being a future Air Force officer,” Lim said.
Bills was nominated for the program by an anonymous source and he decided to apply because of the other opportunities that the inauguration provides.
“Being able to take some type of leadership skill or leadership techniques from the people I am working with is going to be worth it,” Bills said. “I am always trying to learn, to develop myself as a person and a leader.”
Michelle Bills, Christian’s mom, says he has always had honesty, integrity and a sense of self.
“The leadership program that he will be attending—in advance of the inauguration, where he will get to spend several days with political figures [and] national figures—it supports his academic experience from a non-textbook perspective and supports his studies in political science and his desire to continue with an Air Force career,” she said.
Bills is always trying to learn from experience. The visit to the inauguration summit will be no exception.
“When I was a senior in high school, I went to Homeland Defense National Security Leadership Forum in D.C.,” Bills said. “As future leaders of America, we focused on how we were going to be able to deal with the problem and find the solutions.”
According to Bills, he is also interested to see D.C.’s response to the election’s outcome. “I am really interested in how people are going to turn out to receive President-elect Trump,” Bills said.
“I’ve heard rumors that there are going to be riots and protests. I’ve heard that maybe people are going to try to come together and try to present a unified front.”
This summit will allow Bills to further his education with workshops on various subjects such as technology, medical care, environment, peace, and women’s leadership.
“‘Imagining Peace’ is the one I am most interested about,” Bills said.“This [subject] is about how the future administration is going to construct its conflict resolution scheme—it’s plan of action—whenever it comes up against a hostile country. Hopefully we can do that peacefully.”
Bills will work with others to come up with solutions to the topics and then a presentation will be developed and given to president-elect Trump at the end of the summit.
“As military officers, we have to follow the words of the Commander in Chief, so for him to see how that process plays out with the inauguration, it gives him a good perspective as a future military officer,” Lim said.
Bills wants to make a career in the Air Force and hopes to spend his life using these experiences as means to form himself into a strong leader.
“If I can apply these to anything I do in the Air Force and save lives or save people’s homes, then I am more than willing to do that,” Bills said. “If I do this, it would give me a better insight on how, as a future officer, I would be able to implement what I learn into something conflict-driven.”
