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A London schoolgirl told today of her excitement at meeting “inspirational” Michelle Obama at the White House.
Nanah Colly-Davies was one of 10 pupils from secondary schools in Islington hosted by the First Lady and given a private viewing of the presidential residence.
The tour was part of a visit of Washington for the winners of a Black History Month essay competition. One winner was selected from each of 10 comprehensive secondary schools across the borough.
Nanah, 15, attends Elizabeth Garrett Anderson school, where Mrs Obama delivered an emotional speech during a visit to London last April. She said meeting the First Lady again was inspiring.
Speaking from her hotel in the US capital, she added: “It was absolutely amazing. I thought I would be really calm as I've met her before but as we got closer to the White House I became really nervous. When I saw her it was surreal.
“It was great seeing her in her home. I felt really comfortable. Everything is polished and perfect but the place still felt very welcoming.”
After arriving at the White House yesterday afternoon the group listened to a speech by Mrs Obama in the Old Family Dining Room.
The First Lady chatted to pupils and went around the table, hugging each one of them.
Nanah said: “Michelle is an inspiration to me, 120 per cent. I feel a real connection to her. We both come from working-class families and want to achieve and make something of ourselves. She is my role model.”
The essay competition focused on 20th-century immigration from the West Indies.
Nanah wrote about the Empire Windrush, the ship that brought the first large group of Caribbean immigrants to Britain after the Second World War, and the Notting Hill race riots of 1958.
Her parents, Emmanuel Davies and Mahawa Jalloh, emigrated to Britain from Sierra Leone. To secure a place among the winners she also had to talk about her chosen subject in front of US interviewers.
Mrs Obama told the pupils, who are aged 14 to 18, they had shown they were not afraid of the hard work that would help them achieve their goals.
“We're living in a wonderful time where if you work hard the opportunities are endless. That was true for me. Never did I realise that everything I did before would prepare me for being First Lady, but it did,” she said.
“You're demonstrating to your families, to your teachers, to your communities that you're ready to put in the work and be serious and be focused. And by doing that, the important thing is to know that you can do anything.”
She encouraged the students to make the most of their school years and not be afraid to make mistakes: “I tell my kids that this is practice for the rest of your life because you don't wake up and become the person that you are. President Obama didn't wake up to become who he is.”
The Washington trip was funded with a £13,700 grant from the US embassy in London.
Reader views (1)
Black history month
And so the racism continues
- Bds, Pecknarm, 19/02/2010 17:56
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