The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago will open its doors to the public on June 19, but some guests have been given an early look through special invitations.

One such guest is Troy School District 30-C teacher Caryn Boyle, who toured the museum courtesy of a former student.

More than 20 years before she began working at the Obama Foundation, Hollie Lewandowski was a student in Boyle’s seventh-grade social studies class at Troy Middle School in Plainfield.

“When I was told we’d be given a chance to invite members of our communities to the soft opening days through May, the first people I thought of were my mom and Ms. Boyle,” said Lewandowski, a former Plainfield resident who serves as events manager for the Obama Center.

“I knew she would appreciate it,” she said.

Boyle, a Lockport resident, said she was “beyond excited” to experience the new museum, which began taking soft opening visitors on May 4.

Lewandowski was in Boyle’s class in 2002-03, during a time when America was traumatized by the 9/11 attacks a year earlier and then launching wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“When we started sending troops overseas, I had my classes write letters to them,” said Boyle, who spoke with Shaw Local alongside Lewandowski.

Lewandowski described this as a formative time for developing her awareness of politics and global events.

“That was one of my core memories of [Boyle],” Lewandowski said. “She was the first person to really contextualize what it meant and the ripple effect it was having. It really started the civic lens to my interests in life.”

“I think for a lot of students, that [9/11] was the first time they were really aware of the world outside their own communities,” Boyle said.

In choosing her former teacher as a guest, Lewandowski said, “I couldn’t think of a better person to bring and who would appreciate all of it.”

Boyle described herself as a “lifelong learner” and “a history nerd at heart.”

“My students all know it’s not just about class for me. That Ms. Boyle really loves history,” she said with a laugh.

Lewandowski said the center goes beyond telling the story of the former president. The Obama Center captures a part of American and Chicago history.

“The museum is not just about the Obamas’ legacy; it really shares the history of the U.S. and how different movements, like women’s suffrage and the civil rights movement, paved their way,” she said.

Boyle said she was excited to see the exhibit on the suffragettes, because she is taking a class on the subject this summer.

“We’re so fortunate to have this here so close to our community. My hope is that families take advantage and go visit and talk about that moment of history with their children,” she said.

For Lewandowski, working at the museum is a direct connection to her time in Boyle’s classroom at Troy Middle School.

“Not just the museum, but the whole foundation’s mission is to inspire, empower and connect people, which is something Ms. Boyle has definitely taught me,” Lewandowski said.

The museum is officially being dedicated on June 18, before the public opening on June 19.

Lewandowski said inviting the first visitors in the past weeks has been “the most exciting thing.”

“It’s been great seeing folks here for the first time and hearing their stories and memories,” said Lewandowski, who noted that the first time she was eligible to vote was in 2008 when Obama was elected president.

“And, it’s been fun getting to see my colleagues bring in their families and friends and get to point and say ‘I built that’ or ‘I helped with this.’ We’re all very proud.”