Former White House intern reflects on unique experiences during Carter's presidency
ATLANTA - There has been a steady stream of people visiting the Carter Center to pay their respects to the former President Jimmy Carter.
One family who visited had a special connection to the Carters.
Hope Dlugozima was an intern at the White House during the Carter presidency.
"It was an astonishing 11 months for me," said Hope.
That was in 1979 during the Iranian hostage crisis. She would often see President Carter.
"He would pass by and say, 'Hi.' He refused to leave the White House during the hostage crisis, so he never traveled for those 11 months while I was there," said Hope.
Hope's daughter, Lucia Lombardo, has her own special connection. Her high school teacher is the wife of former President Carter's grandson, Jason.
"She always had great things to say about President Carter, her husband, the rest of the family, and that gave me a sense of closeness to the family," said Lucia.
When Hope first heard about former President Carter's passing, she set up a special memorial to him in her home. There's an autographed photo of President Carter and a special cup from her days in the White House. Hope told the story about that cup.
"I was at the West Wing, and we were having a coffee meeting. I kept turning the coffee cup upside down; it was beautiful and underneath it says ‘The White House,’ Washington DC. I thought, you know I might have to help clean up this table," said Hope.
When Hope and Lucia visited the Carter Center to pay their respects, they said thinking about former President Jimmy Carter and all he has done makes them proud to be from Georgia.
"I think just growing up here, as a native Atlantan, you feel close to President Carter and the family. We were lucky to have a president who lived so long and did so much to give back to the city and the community," said Lucia.
The Source: This article is based on original reporting by FOX 5's Denise Dillon.