As part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2015 Reach Higher Initiative, 140 college-bound students joined rapper Wale and TV personality Terrance J for the Beating the Odds Summit at the White House. And, the students even got a surprise visit from President Obama.
[Related: Rapper Wale and FLOTUS Team Up to Promote Higher Education]
The Summit included a diverse group of urban, rural, foster, homeless, special needs, and under-represented youth, who had “overcome substantial obstacles to persist through high school and make it to college.â€
USA Today compiled a few bits of wisdom from FLOTUS and Wale:
“Education should be cool again,†Michelle Obama told incoming college students on Thursday. “This should be the cool thing to do in life.â€
“Don’t be afraid of hard work,†she said. “Hard work is at the core of everything, and if it’s too easy, then you’re probably not working hard enough.â€And success isn’t easy, FLOTUS said.
“Failure is a necessary part of growth and success,†Obama said. “Don’t let that be your mental barrier. Roll up your sleeves, don’t be afraid to work hard and if you fail, recover. Get over it.”
“Wale attended Virginia State, Bowie State, and Robert Morris universities but dropped out before graduating.”
He said college was not about the degree for him, but between football practices at school, he discovered his passion in music, according to USA Today.
“It allowed me to have more time to figure out what I wanted to do,†said Wale, who has released four albums. He was scheduled to perform at the summit on Thursday.
Read more of this story on USA Today….
In case you missed the event, check out the storify recap below.