LIVINGSTON -- Haidar Ali Anwar, a 16-year-old Livingston High School junior, doesn't yet have his driver's license -- but he does have the hottest ticket in town.

It's the hottest ticket in many towns around the world, in fact.

Haidar has been invited to attend the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20.

At the inauguration, he will introduce one of the guests at a black-tie gala ball. Lance Armstrong and John and Elizabeth Edwards are among the honored guests.

"When I was chosen, I was thrilled. I couldn't believe it," Haidar said.

Some people weren't so shocked.

"He's a remarkable student," Livingston High School principal Ralph Calderon said. "It's not a surprise to me at all."

Haidar won the inauguration trip as a participant in the 2008 National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine. The forums take place across the country and expose exceptional high school students to leaders in their future careers.

Program organizers at the forums observed students and selected a lucky few to travel to the inauguration.

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