In 2010, a 9-year-old boy sat down for dinner at the White House next to then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. He spent his evening conversing with former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle, which ignited a passion for politics that has continued to grow over the last 11 years.
That 9-year-old was Concordia University Chicago men's soccer Caleb Price.
Last July, Price looked back on the events of the months prior and the protests that followed the killing of George Floyd. The Cincinnati, Ohio native wondered if there was something his hometown could do to address its history of poor racial ties.
Drawing off his inspiration to enter politics, Price hatched the idea of renaming Reading Road, the busiest street in Cincinnati, after former President Barack Obama.
"There's already a highway in Cincinnati named after Ronald Reagan, so I thought, 'Why not name one after Obama?'" Price said. "Whether everyone agrees with him or not, he's our first African-American president and a leader who a lot of people look up to."
Price, who is currently majoring in political science, hopes to one day attend law school and work his way into politics. This dream dates back to that night in 2010 when Price accompanied his childhood friend and father, who was a member of Congress, to Capitol Hill.
A decade later, Price's interest in politics hasn't wavered one bit. The 18-year old personally rang over 1,000 doorbells in three different neighborhoods last summer and gathered 20,000 signatures between his active canvassing efforts and Change.org.
Going door-to-door was nothing new for Price, who worked political campaigns in the past and got to know a lot of interesting people through knocking on doors. However, he knew the only way he'd truly get the job done was by taking it straight to the top.
Price went in front of the Cincinnati City Council and delivered a speech about why he believed the street should be named after the 44th president. His speech resonated heavily with the audience, and five council members as well as the mayor approached him afterwards to collect his contact information.
He reached the goal he set out to accomplish.
In order to pay for the new street signs, Price and members of the City Council privately raised over $50,000 from a variety of donors, including friends, family, private businesses, local leaders and even national donors.
"We decided not to use a single taxpayer dollar in case anyone had an issue with what we were doing," Price said.
While the project is not yet fully completed, President Obama's name is now credited on the official city resolution. Once all of the 30,000 street signs are finally in place, a ceremony will commence at the point where the street intersects with MLK Drive.
The intersection of the streets was a major point made by Price during his speech. There is currently no set date for the ceremony, but it is expected to take place around Labor Day.
"It's incredible," Price said of what they accomplished. "I'm imagining all the street signs going up and it's amazing. I'm so thankful for all the donors and city leaders who helped make it happen."
The confidence gained through renaming the street translated to the field during his freshman season this spring. He made five starts and logged 335 minutes of action in 10 games.
"I knew I'd be a little bit nervous my first year, but with everything I went through prior, I knew there was no reason to be," Price said. "I felt some nerves before playing teams like DePaul or Dominican, but I knew if I was comfortable talking in front of a mayor, then I would be comfortable on the field."
The Dean's List student has aspirations to keep his roots in the Midwest following his final three years at CUC. He hopes to attend law school in the Chicagoland area.
"My passion is immigration law," Price said. "If I don't end up working in Illinois politics, Arizona would be my top choice. It's becoming an increasingly important battleground state and immigration law is very prominent there. I want to know I'm helping people."
