Stetson alumna Second Lt. Shanti S. Nolan will be conducting the U.S. Air Force Band and Honor Guard in President Obama’s inauguration parade on Jan. 21, 2013 in Washington D.C.  Lt. Nolan earned bachelor of music degrees in education and in trumpet performance from Stetson University in 2002.

Originally from Vero Beach, Fla., Lt. Nolan began her Air Force career in 2011. Nolan is currently the officer in charge of outreach with the Air Force Band, the Air Force’s premier musical organization. She also holds the Master of Music in wind band conducting and a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the University of Minnesota.

Since its formation, the Air Force Band has marched in 15 inauguration parades. The band’s uplifting programs deliver positive messages about the U.S. Air Force and the U.S.A., and demonstrate Air Force excellence to countless listeners on television, radio and the Internet at more than 1,600 live performances each year. The 99-piece band and 80-person Honor Guard will march along the 1.5-mile route that begins at 4th Street and Pennsylvania Ave. and goes past the White House.

Lt. Nolan considers her greatest achievement so far to be conducting the Band’s Airmen of Note for the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony hosted by President Obama and the First Family in December 2011 in only her fifth week as an officer in the United States Air Force. Her other major honors include the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

“We have kept in touch during the years since she graduated,” said Stetson Director of Bands and Professor of Music Education Bobby Adams. “About the time she was to graduate she called me asking me to advise her on accepting a college job or the opportunity the Air Force Band was offering her. I told her to take the Air Force position and she did.” Just last month, Nolan invited her former professor to attend the largest band and orchestra convention in the United States and probably the world. “She had asked me to be at the MidWest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago as one of her mentors,” Adams said. She was conducting the Air Force Band Chamber Music Concert. “She was spectacular. The Air Force Band loves her. She is very special to them. She is special to me and always has been.”

“Shanti was an excellent student,” said Interim Dean of the School of Music Noel Painter. “I am thrilled that she will be participating in the parade and that Stetson will have the chance to feature her.”

In addition to Second Lt. Nolan, Stetson University will also be represented at the Inauguration by four politically active individuals, who are current students, and who will also be attending the 2013 Presidential Inauguration.

Jeff Sayer, from Cummings, Ga., is double-majoring in political science and American studies. He is a Democrat who is committed to reducing the partisan political divide in this country. In the fall,Sayer organized a trip with three other Stetson students to attend both the Republican and the Democratic National Conventions. When they returned to Stetson at the beginning of the 2012-13 academic year, they made a presentation to other students about eliminating the barriers between the two parties. Under the supervision of Assistant Director of Stetson’s Center for Community Engagement Kevin Winchell, Sayer created an official Stetson Twitter page, titled Stetson Politics. He has also established a Facebook page–just like it and type in ‘Stetson Political Engagement Group.’ Sayer, who plans to attend John Marshall Law School in Atlanta in the fall, and his three student colleagues and traveling companions, listed below, all of whom are Republicans, will keep the university community posted with their Inauguration highlights at https://twitter.com/StetsonPolitics.

Sophomore Benjamin Trigani, from Wellington, Fla., is majoring in finance. He plans to live in New York and work in the finance industry after graduating from college.

Freshman Jacopo Dalmasso is from Cuneo, Italy. With a double-major in mathematics and economics, he is hoping to graduate in only three years in the class of 2015. A Republican “in the American political system,” Dalmasso plans to work in the investment or consulting industry after earning a doctorate in either financial engineering or operation research. He hopes to continue his political involvement after college, as well.

Sophomore Dawson Shuman, from DeLand, Fla., is double-majoring in finance and pre-law. After graduating from Stetson, Shuman plans to earn a law degree from The University of Alabama Law School.