Howard University students went wild Thursday afternoon when first lady Michelle Obama made an unannounced appearance on campus to discuss the importance of college.
In a speaker event at the historically black college’s school of business, the university provost told students they would hear from Amber Ruffin, the first black woman to write for a network late-night show; Seth Meyers, host of NBC’s “Late Night” and entertainer Nick Cannon, a freshman at Howard.
Once Meyers was on stage, he suggested to Cannon that they bring “one more person out” and asked the students to give it up for FLOTUS ― much to the ecstatic students’ surprise.
After the standing ovation ― which lasted a solid minute ― died down, Obama offered some words of inspiration.
“College was probably the most impactful thing that I have done in my life, other than being first lady, and having kids and marrying Barack Obama,” she told the students. “It taught me that I could leave home and be successful away from home.”
While studying at Princeton, Obama said she was the “funny, kind of silly” person Americans have gotten to know during her husband’s presidency, but also that she wanted to disprove naysayers who thought she was aiming too high.
“I still carry that with me as first lady of the United States because there are people who think I shouldn’t be doing that, either, and it’s been eight years,” she said.
When asked if there was anything she regretted from college, Obama said she wished she’d tried more new things.
“You all as freshmen should not be spending time alone in your rooms, unless you’re studying,” she said. “And when you’re not, get out there. Push past your comfort zone. Meet people. Introduce yourself to people ― don’t think that people are going to come to you.”
Sounds like Malia will be getting some good advice from mom when she starts Harvard next year.
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