Stacey Chaney visits Ewell Castle School

 

On Friday 8th October 2021, Ewell Castle School were lucky enough to have the opportunity to listen to a woman who had personally worked in the White House. This article is about the amazing life of Stacey Chaney, who now lives in Dakota. She worked in the White House from the age of 24. Her main job was to brief the president on current affairs and on his travel schedule. Stacey worked with President Bush in January 1989, up to President Tump in January 2021. Her father worked as a police officer and her mother worked in a post office. Stacey’s husband, Dick Chaney, also worked close to the White House. He oversaw the Emergency Response team and snippers. This article is about some of the crises the USA faced during that time, focusing on the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Invasion of Kuwait.

 

The Fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany happened on the 9th of November 1989. At that time George Bush Senior was aboard from the United States of America. The way he found out about what happened to the Berlin Wall was when he was presented a piece of the Berlin Wall by one of his collegues. After that, Germany faced the challenge of making East and West Germany into one country again.

 

On the 15th of April 1989 there were pro-democracy demonstrations, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China where thousands of people gathered to protest against government controls. At this event, a Chinese government tank ran over a 20-year-old student, which killed him. This tragedy was captured on the news and spread worldwide, thanks to technology. However, the sanctions that the Chinese government faced from other countries were very minimal. This was because they needed to continue trading with China for goods and services.

 

The Invasion of Kuwait happened from the 2nd of to the 4th of August 1990. With Stacey’s vivid descriptions and inside knowledge, we were able to understand George Bush in a different light. Stacey told us that Bush did not like to work independently. He always wanted someone to stand by his side, both tangibly and metaphorically.

 

Everyone enjoyed Stacey’s talk and we were grateful to her for taking the time to speak to us about her amazing life of public service. No doubt, it will inspire our Sixth Form to aim high and make best use of the opportunities that are on offer to us.