With the inauguration of a new president taking place later this month, we thought it would be interesting to see what advice students at LCMS and LCHS had to offer President- Elect Barack Obama.

After reading their responses, we agreed it would be a good move for the president to put a few these young people on speed dial. Many of their answers were well thought out, even inspired; others were full of humor.

What follows is a sampling of the students' sage advice for Obama:

.. Jasmine Benning — "The advice that I would give to Obama is to keep an open mind, and don't change things drastically."

.. Emily Hinson — "If I could give the president a piece of advice, I would suggest he make his decisions for our country prayerfully."

.. Scott Waters — "I don't care what you do, but please get us out of this recession."

.. Russ Spratlin — "Follow what you think God would have you to do."

.. Jeffery Brown — "You've achieved your goal, so do a wonderful job. No matter who tries to bring you down, keep your head up and never turn around."

.. James Williams — "Convince whoever runs college football to start a playoff system."

.. Roxanne Ware — "Before making a major decision, please consider the younger generation. Please make sure it will help us in the future."

.. Kerri Seymour — "The one piece of advice I would like to give you is to push the advance of alternative energy, so we can help our environment and economy."

.. Erica Davis — "A piece of advice that I would give to the president: Through you, let the Lord work wonders with the U.S. When a situation occurs, don't panic — continue to be calm, because you know the Lord has your back."

.. Bailey Crosby — "My advice for President Obama is to make it possible for 13 year olds to get good jobs. We need money, too. We need to be able to buy what we want when we want it. We could get our family members presents for Christmas and birthdays."

.. Fredrick Crite — "The one piece of advice I would give Obama is to help get our troops home safely and peacefully. Put more Iraqis in police training, so it will be better overseas."

.. Kaitlyn Tate — "If I could give the new president advice, it would be to raise the pay of workers, but don't raise the taxes on it."

.. Jason Courtright — "If I could give President Obama advice, it would be that he should be truthful and not hide anything from the country."

.. Andrew McQuigg — "Don't be an idiot."

.. David Davis — "If I could give Obama a piece of advice, it would be to make a fair tax. The fair tax would be better because it would take away all of the other taxes and add to sales tax. Of course, sales tax would be 23 percent. I hope that Obama does a good job."

.. Andy Ray Wengrow — "My advice to president Obama would be to make a treaty with Iraq. We need to bring our troops home."

.. Nicholas Ingram — "The one piece of advice I would give President Obama would be to keep gas prices going down. Lower gas prices would allow people to take more enjoyable trips, so they could be more relaxed and less stressed. Then people would not be mad and ready to fight."

.. Denzel Gunby — "The advice I would give Barack Obama is to stand by his word and ask God to help him with every decision he has to make."

.. Emily Ann Diamond — "Get rid of the 'No Child Left Behind' system in the schools! It's leaving more kids behind rather than helping them. It is slowing down the education system."

.. Brandon Jenkins — "I would advise Barack Obama to keep his word as well as look out for the common people. I would also advise him to create jobs to reduce unemployment and make it a law for all students to finish high school."

.. Emily Wright — "If I could give one piece of advice to President-Elect Obama, I would tell him to do what he thinks is right because you can't please everybody."

.. Shakeifa Searles — "Make sure the soldiers make it home safely, and keep faith in God."

.. Daravious Cullars — "Make it affordable for every student to go to college."

.. James Spratlin — "My advice to President Obama would be to stop using Styrofoam and plastic because they're filling up our landfills."

.. Donnell Harris — "Keep faith in God, and He will direct your paths. Don't show fear and uncertainty in public."

.. Miranda West — "Jump on your bed every day!"

.. Tabitha Rayner — "Pray. Ask God for guidance in everything that you do to lead our country. I know virtually nothing about running a country, but I do know that I want my president to be a Godly man."

.. Amanda Gay — "Treat everyone with respect, but don't lower the standards and values of our country."

..Amberly Barksdale — "My advice to you is to do your best to straighten out our economy and get us out of this recession. Keep your campaign promises and walk into the White House with God in your heart."

.. Lethacious Lockhart — "My advice to President Obama would be to not go crazy with all of the things you have to do. Keep going, and don't lose faith. President Obama, we have been waiting a long time for a black president, so love being the president of the United States of America."

.. Bentley Beggs — "My advice to President Obama would be to raise and give more money to cure common diseases. Diabetes, cancer, muscular dystrophy, and tuberculosis are my major concerns. These diseases cause people to suffer and die every day. If we had a cure, we could make a difference."

.. Chase Lawson — "My advice to President Obama would be not to send the troops back home yet. The war is still going on, and we are almost finished. We don't need to leave yet, because if we do, they could come to America and attack us."

.. Preston Mercier — "My advice would be to provide more homeless shelters for the people who don't have homes, food, and water. People die every day because they don't have shelter."

.. Bailey Weaghington — "The one piece of advice I would give President Obama would be not to raise gun prices. If you are trying to keep robbers from breaking in and shooting anyone, the robbers are not going to go out and buy the guns. They are going to steal them from the hardworking people who bought them."

.. Barbara Hill — "My advice to Obama is to make sure that there will be student loans for students starting college."

.. Jamaul Hawes — "My advice to President Obama would be to convince people to give to the poor. I think the poor should get 25 percent of the food we have. The poor need food or they'll starve to death."

.. Savannah Barnett — "My advice to President Obama would be to have a day to honor our heroes. Everyday firefighters, policemen, doctors, and many others save our lives! Without them, we would not be here. We could tell them 'thank you' a million times, but it would not be as special as having a day to honor them."

.. Bo Reed — "To adopt a fair tax system, so that the wealthier people aren't penalized and forced to pay more taxes just because they've worked so hard to get to where they are."

.. Karlton Walker — "To create more jobs and opportunities and bring the troops home."

.. Michael Burgess — "One piece of advice I would give to our new president is to cut down on foreign oil. I also would say to cut down on foreign trade a little bit. I mean the American flag is made in China."

.. Sharekia Smith — "I would tell our new president to help the homeless and hungry by giving away clothes you can't wear and food you have at home."

.. Zoey Gray — "If I had a chance to say something to the new president, it would be 'good luck.' I think it would be hard to run the country. I'm glad you are going to be our new president because I think you will help our environment. I think it's good that you want to stop global warming. The polar bears are going to be extinct and those are my favorite animals, so if you could, please try to help that. Thank you. I know that you will be great."

.. Tyler Vaughn — "A piece of advice I would give to our new president is to figure out a way to stop the war in Iraq. We're having to send more and more people to Iraq. Children aren't able to see their moms and dads. At times, their parents aren't able to come home for the holidays. If you did that, that would be really great. Thank you."

.. Greg Griffin — "If I could give one piece of advice to the new president, I know exactly what I would tell him. I would tell him to launch a project to make a hydrogen-powered car. All you would have to do is fill up your tank with water. Then oxygen would come out of the tail pipe."

.. Max Ashmore — "My advice to President Obama would be to ban guns and knives because people could kill people with that stuff, and they kill lots of animals. That is my advice for Obama."

.. Aaron Smith — "My advice to President Obama is for him to stop smoking. The reason President Obama needs to stop smoking is because it will kill him."

.. Tyler Tutt — "My advice to President Obama would be to lower the cost of health insurance. The cost of health insurance has gotten extremely high, and some people cannot afford it anymore."

.. Madison Layton — "The one piece of advice I would give President Obama would be that the students in all American schools need better school lunches. Some personal favorites are Chick-Fil-A, Subway, and Zaxby's. Lunch is a very important energy source for our brains. Please, President Obama, consider this idea."

.. Toni Jones — "My advice to President Obama would be to keep God first because that is how you became president. Make the right choices and serve our country well."