A local honour student, selected to attend President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony later this month, will get to witness history in the making.

Chelsea Hollis, 19, will fly to Washington D.C. on January 17 to attend the University Presidential Inaugural Conference (UPIC), a unique programme that unites outstanding young people from around the world.

Miss Hollis was still shocked when she talked to The Royal Gazette yesterday and said: "It hasn't set in yet. I don't think it will actually set in until the day I get there when I actually see everyone arriving.

"I am excited because while I was away in Huntsville, Alabama, attending Calhoun College, I heard everyone talking about Obama.

"Then when Obama won (the election) I got excited because I knew that once I went to the inauguration I would see history being made."

The former Bermuda Institute student was nominated to attend the Inaugural Conference after meeting a high academic and leadership standard at her school and after participating in a Global Young Leaders Conference in June of 2007.

The inauguration is particularly important for her as a young woman of colour. She said:"That was the biggest part.

"Since I am a black woman I was excited because I believe we need some of our black people to stand up for themselves, and let everyone know that we can do it. "That we can make it through if we work together."

Her upcoming trip to Washington D.C. will involve a set of exclusive and private inaugural events and will also feature talks from keynote speakers like former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell, and former Vice President of the U.S. and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Al Gore.

The conference, which costs $2,620 to attend, was sponsored by Eugene Bean, CEO of BAS-Serco Ltd. Miss Hollis remains grateful to him for the opportunity.