LIBERADIO(!)

From Coop’s peeps: Nashville native Catherine Lovett has won U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper’s drawing to attend the first Congressional address by President Barack Obama. Lovett, 23, will sit in the House Gallery for tonight’s speech to a joint session of Congress as a special guest of Cooper.

Catherine Lovett & Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN, The Fghtin' 5th!)

Lovett, a graduate of Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School and Spelman College, currently serves as program assistant for the Southern Education Foundation, a nonprofit that does education policy and advocacy work for students, particularly low-income students, in the south. Her parents are both educators.

“This is beyond a dream for me,” said Lovett, who recently attended a Women in Public Policy seminar in Washington and is currently applying to graduate school. “I really enjoyed the seminar, and it kind of motivated me to get more involved in policy work…. This opportunity is the icing on the cake.”

“I’m pleased to be able to welcome a Middle Tennessean to Washington for President Obama’s first speech to Congress,” said Cooper. “I can’t think of a more appropriate person to join me tonight. Catherine is a hard worker who’s already devoting her career to make the world a better place. I hope President Obama inspires her to keep pursuing those dreams.”