WSU played role in recent celebration with Michelle Obama
Although the media focus was on the first lady's visit, Wichita State University played a small part in the celebration. The high school students who participated in the round-table discussion are students who participate in Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP, a federally funded college access program hosted by Wichita State.
Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP provides 2,500 low income and students in foster care with mentoring services, campus visits and college focused workshops that help them stay in high school, graduate and prepare for post-secondary education.
In addition to this, Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP has a scholarship available to participants after they graduate from high school.
Corinne Nilsen, executive director, received a request from the U.S. Department of Education to recommend students and staff to the Office of the First Lady for this event. For security reasons, the event details were not released until May 15, when a press release was issued from the first lady's office.
Eleven students were selected by grade and level of participation in the program to meet Michelle Obama and participate in a round-table discussion about their opportunities and aspirations for going to college.
Nilsen was asked to be moderator of the discussion.
"What are your hopes? What do you think about college? What do you think about life there?," Obama asked them. "What are some of the challenges that you face?"
Students discussed their career choices, the colleges they were interested in attending, their fears of the high cost of attending college and their concerns for their futures. Obama responded to the questions and offered her suggestions about financial aid, about negotiating with colleges that need a diverse population and encouraged them to find professionals in their career choices to job shadow.
Obama spoke about her own background, growing up in the south side of Chicago, unsure if her family could afford a college education for her and her brother. Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago to work at a law firm.
After the event at the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, all 11 students were excited about their opportunity to talk to the first lady about college access. When asked, several of the students recalled that Obama encouraged them to "never give up" on their dreams of a college education.
A photo from the event is available at http://www.wichita.edu/j/?2940