Clovis native takes part in inauguration for President Joe Biden

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Hours before the inauguration started, Jacob Huls was already in place at Capitol Hill.

"Got up bright and early," he said. "It was 5:30, members didn't show up to the capitol until 8 or 9 or so and my job was to usher folks to their seats."

The Clovis native now works in D.C. as a legislative correspondent for a member of congress -- and says he jumped at the opportunity to witness history.

"To see the first woman vice president sworn in, the first woman of color in that office and just to see an inauguration, in general, was pretty humbling," he said.

But for volunteers, the preparation started long before today.

"This has been months in planning but weeks for people like myself," Huls said. "They required everyone who was going to be there to get a COVID test before."

Huls says this year's event was unlike any other inauguration in the past -- in more ways than one.

"We had thousands of national guards troops sleeping in the capitol," he said. "That's a place I hold with such high reverence. I give tours there. It rips your heart out a bit."

But after witnessing the day's events, he's hopeful for the years to come.

"I feel like our country might be going in a more positive direction for a lot of folks," Huls said. "Just for a lot of different communities that have felt ostracized the last four years."