Watch the communicators monday night at 8 00 eastern on cspan 2. In her last official remarks as first lady, Michelle Obama talked about the Educational Initiatives of the obama administration, and called on the nations youth to empower themselves with a good education. This is 30 minutes. Thank you to mrs. Obama for hosting this white house event and supporting our work by recognizing School Talent at the national level. [applause] the profession and the students we serve will be forever enriched by the initiatives you have established. As a change in administration occurs, raising questions about the educational take, i can promise you all of our counselors will continue the legacy you have established. [applause] we will work to help all students reach their full potential. Thanks also for the American School counsel association. I feel so blessed to be part of an association that values members, one that is intentional about offering the tools and guidance we all need to be successful in our profession. Thank you. [applause] finally, thank you to the other educators here today. Im honored to stand here among you and know that amazing work happens here every day. In a profession where we may not always feel gratitude or immediately see results, i want you to know that your work is greatly appreciated. Take a moment and think about the lives you affect daily through your profession to help others. No other profession is as deeply fulfilling as that of an educator. So lets be intentional about remembering this today as we are all being recognized for the impact we have on students and family. This impact is multifaceted and critical to our society and communities. Our first lady spoke about this. She said that Ripple Effect would spread our influence. Mrs. Obama said we need to be cognizant not only the child that we will transform but the family that that child will one day raise. We need to think of our students in our hearts and minds, as well as the hearts and minds of those they touch. Think about that for a moment. That is the power that resides in our young people. Know, i work in a Career Center in western michigan. A large portion of my role is helping students determine what those first crucial steps will be after graduation and provided them with the support they need to make the right decision. One of my students had a hard time believing in herself and sold herself short in many ways. She did nothing she was good enough or smart enough to be successful in high school. She could not see that her passion to help others and her selflessness when dealing with friends and family in need would lead to her lifes calling. She did not realize the quality that these amazing inequalities would put her in a amazing innate qualities would put her in a position to help others. Through our conversation about her goals, aspirations, fears and dreams, she realized her potential. She began to find excitement and enjoyment in her learning. Her vision of the future came into focus. Today, she works in the medical field, helping others while attending classes while earning her nursing degree. When i think of her, i think of the many lives she is changing. This is the Ripple Effect mrs. Obama mentioned. Through persistence, caring, and support for our students, we make a difference in their lives and they make a difference in the lives of others. We all have stories like this. All of you have stories like this. Our students and their stories are why we love what we do. It is why School Counseling is less about a career path and more about who we are as people. Regards as of the grade levels we serve, no student could fall through the cracks on our watch. We must work to eliminate barriers to success by ensuring to the best of our ability that all students receive the support they deserve. This applies to those with aspirations to attaining Community College and college degrees, as well as those seeking to go into the military. This applies to firstgeneration College Goers and those who may never go beyond high school because they struggle with poverty, homelessness, or live in communities where drug use and abuse rips away at the family fabric. We need to be advocates for the students. We need to spark motivation. We need to be the leaders that create systemic change. So i leave all School Counselors with a challenge and a call to action. Provide your students with everything you can offer. Consistently, and passionately every day. When times are difficult and you feel overwhelmed, remember why you are a School Counselor. Remember your students stories and the impact you have. Remember the huge role you play in their growth and development. Remember that if it wasnt for all of you, all of you on the stage, many students would not be where they are today. By keeping all of these things in your heart, i know this team of change agents will persevere and continue to do amazing work each and every day. I am honored to be on your team. Thank you. [applause] and now, there is no greater honor i can imagine than to introduce to you someone who understands the value of great education. Our School Counselor in chief, the first lady of the united states, mrs. Michelle obama. [applause] mrs. Obama thank you all so much. Rest yourselves. We are almost at the end. Hello, everyone. May i say for the last time officially, to the white house. [applause] mrs. Obama we are beyond thrilled to have you all here to celebrate the national School Counselor of the year as well as all of our state counselors of the year. These are the fine women and a few good men. [laughter] mrs. Obama one good man, who are on the stage and represent schools from across the country. I want to start by thanking terry for that wonderful introduction and her right on the spot remarks. I will say a lot more about terry in a few minutes. First i want to acknowledge a few people who are here. First, our outstanding secretary of education john king. [applause] mrs. Obama as well as our former education secretary, arne duncan. [applause] mrs. Obama i want to take this time to thank you both publicly for your dedication and leadership and friendship. We couldnt do this without the support of the department of education under both of your leadership. Im grateful to both of you personally and proud of all you have done for this country. I want to acknowledge a few other special guests we had in the audience. We have a pretty awesome crew. As one of my staff said, you are all pretty deep. Yeah, we have a few good friends. Allen, with us, ted connie britton, andy cohen. Coach jim harbaugh. And his beautiful wife who is a lot better looking than him. [laughter] my buddy jay pharaoh, kelly rowland, pressure keep it down. [laughter] mrs. Obama keep it together, ladies. Allison williams as well and her mom are here. All of these people are here because they are using their star power to inspire our young people and i am so grateful to all of you for stepping up in so many ways, on so many occasions. I feel like i have pestered you over these years, asking time and time again, where he will you be, can you come, can we do can you sing . Rap, thank you so much. It means so much to this initiative to have such powerful individuals speaking on behalf of this issue. Congratulations on the work that you have done and keep working. I especially want to recognize all of the extraordinary Leadership Teams that were behind reach higher from day one. This isnt on the script so they dont know this. I want to take this time to personally acknowledge a couple people. Executive director eric waldo. [applause] mrs. Obama where is eric . Mrs. Obama eric is acting like he is a ham, but he likes the spotlight. He is acting shy. I want to recognize our deputy director, stephanie sprout. [applause] mrs. Obama and he is really not going to like this because he tries to pretend like he doesnt exist at all. But our senior advisor, greg. [applause] mrs. Obama greg has been a leader in education his entire life. I have known him since i was a little organizer person. It is a joy to work with you all. These individuals are brilliant. They are creative. They have worked miracles with hardly any staff or budget to speak of, which is how we roll in the first ladys office. I am so proud and so grateful to you all for everything you have done. Lets give a round of applause. [applause] mrs. Obama and finally i want to recognize all of you who are here in this audience, our educators, our leaders, our young people who have been with us since we launched reach higher back in 2014. When we first came up with this idea, we had one clear goal in mind. We wanted to make Higher Education cool. We wanted to change the conversation about what it means and what it takes to be a success in the country. Lets be honest, if we are always shining the spotlight on professional athletes and recording artists or hollywood celebrities, if those are the only achievements we celebrate, then why would we ever see kids why would we think kids would see college as a priority . So we decided to flip the script. We wanted to shine a bright light on all things educational. For example, we made College Signing day a national event. We wanted to mimic all of the drama and excitement traditionally reserved for those few amazing football and basketball players choosing their colleges and university teams. We wanted to focus that same level of energy and attention on kids going to college because of their academic achievement. As a nation, that is where the spotlight should also be. On kids who work hard in school and do the right thing when no one is watching. Many beating daunting odds. Next, we launched better make room. This gives kids the inspiration to actually complete Higher Education. And really to drive that message home, i debuted my music career, rapping with jay about knowledge by going to college. [applause] mrs. Obama we are also very proud of all this administration has done to make Higher Education more affordable. We doubled investment in pell grants and college tax credits. We expanded loan repayment options for tens of millions of students. We made it easier to apply for Financial Aid. We created a College Scorecard to help students make good decisions about Higher Education. And we provided new funding and support for School Counselors. Altogether. [applause] mrs. Obama altogether, we made in this administration, the largest investment in education since the g. I. Bill. [applause] today, the High School Graduation rate is at a record high and more young people than ever before are going to college. We know that School Counselors like all of the people standing with me on this stage have played a Critical Role in helping us get there. In fact, a recent study shows that students who met with the School Counselors to talk about Financial Aid or college were three times more likely to attend college and they were nearly seven times more likely to apply for Financial Aid. Our School Counselors are truly among the heroes of the reach higher story. That is why we created this event two years ago. We thought that they should finally get some recognition. [applause] mrs. Obama we wanted everybody to know about the difference that these phenomenal men and women have been making in the lives of our young people every day. And our 2017 School Counselor of the year, terry, is a perfect example. She works at the Career Center in michigan. Here is what her principal said about her and his letter of recommendation. Once she identifies a systemic need, she works tirelessly to address it. When students at terrys school reported feeling unprepared to apply to Higher Education she sprung into action to create a schoolwide top to bottom College Readiness effort. More students than ever before attended workshops on resume writing, fafsa completion yes, i can now say fafsa and interview preparation. I can barely say it. [laughter] mrs. Obama they did career personality assessments, they helped to plan a special college week and they organized a military day, hosting recruiters from all branches of our armed forces. Because of these efforts, 75 of calhoun seniors now complete key College Application steps. Won state and has national recommendation. All of this is just one small part of what terry does for her students each day. I can go on and on about all of the time that she spends one on one with students of them figure out their life path. Terry told us about one of those students. We reached out and here is what she had to say in her own words. She wrote, she has helped me grow to love myself. She helped me with my doubts and insecurities. She said my life has changed for the better in all aspects. She said, she held my hand through my hardest time. She said, she is my lifesaver. That is what she said. This is what each of you do. Every single day. You see the promise in each of your students, you believe in them even when they cant believe in themselves. You work tirelessly to help them be who they were truly meant to be. And you do it all in the face of overwhelming challenges. Tight budgets, impossible student counselor ratios yeah endless demands on your time. You come in early, stay late, reach into your own pockets. [laughter] mrs. Obama you stick with students in their darkest moments. When they are most anxious and afraid. If anyone is dealing with a College Senior or junior, you know what this feels like. These men and women showed them that these kids matter. They have something to offer, no matter or they are from or how much money their parents have, no matter what they look like or who they love, or how they worship, or what language they speak at home, they have a place in this country. And as i end my time in the white house, i can think of no better message to send to our young people in my last official remarks as first lady. For all the young people in this room and those who are watching, know that this country belongs to you. To all of you. From every background and walk of life. If you or your parents are immigrants, know that you are part of a proud american tradition, the infusion of new cultures, talents and ideas, generation after generation, that has made us the greatest country on earth. If your family doesnt have much money, i want you to remember that in this country, many of people including me and my husband, we started out with very little. But with a lot of hard work and a good education, anything is possible. Even becoming president. That is what the American Dream is all about. [applause] mrs. Obama if you are a person of faith, know that the largest that religious diversity is a Great American tradition as well. That is why people first came to this country, to worship freely. Whether you are muslim, christian, jewish, hindu, sikh, these religions are teaching our young people about justice. Compassion and honesty. I want our young people to continue to learn and practice those values with pride. Our glorious diversity as states, colors, creeds, that is not a threat to to who we are. It makes us who we are. [applause] mrs. Obama to the young people here and those out there, dont let anyone make you feel like you dont matter or that you dont have a place in our american story because you do. And you have a right to be exactly who you are. But i also want to be very clear. This right isnt just handed to you. This right has to be earned every single day. You cannot take your freedom for granted. Just like generations to come before you, you have to do your part to preserve and protect those freedoms. That starts right now when you are young. Right now, you need to be preparing yourself to add your voice to our national conversation. You need to prepare yourself to be informed and engaged as a citizen, to serve and to stand up for proud American Values and honor them in your daily lives. That means getting the best education possible. So you can think critically, so you can express yourself clearly. So you can get a good job to support yourself and your family. So you can be a positive force in your community. When you encounter obstacles because i guarantee you you will, and many of you are ready have, when you are struggling and you start thinking about giving up, i want you to remember something that my husband and i have talked about. Since we first started this journey nearly a decade ago, something that has carried us through every moment in this white house, every moment of our lives. That is the power of hope. The belief that Something Better is always possible if you are willing to work for it and fight for it. It is our fundamental belief in the power of hope that has allowed us to rise above the voices of doubt and division. Of anger and fear, that we have faced in our own lives and in the light of this country. Our hope is that if we work hard enough and believe in ourselves, we can be whatever we dream, regardless of the limitations that others may place on us. The hope that when people see us for we truly are, maybe they too will be inspired to rise to their best possible self. That is the hope of students who fight to discover their gifts and share them with the world. It is the hope of School Counselors like terry and all of these people up here who guide those students every single day. It is the hope of people like my dad, who got up every day, did his job at the city water plant. The hope that one day, his kid would go to college. And have opportunities that he never dreamed of. That is the kind of hope that every single one of us, politicians, parents, preachers, all of us, need to be provided for our young people. That is what moves this country forward every single day. So, that is my final message to young people as first lady. It is simple. [applause] mrs. Obama i want our young people to know that they matter, they belong. Dont be afraid. Do you hear me, young people . Dont be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered. Empower yourselves with a good education. Then get out there and use that education to build a country worthy of your boundless pride. Lead by example with hope, never fear. And know that i will be with you, rooting for you and working to support you for the rest of my life. That is true, i know, for every person that is here today and for educators and advocates all across this nation who get up every day and work their hearts out to lift up our young people. I am so grateful to all of you for your passion and your dedication and all the hard work on behalf of our next generation. I can think of no better way to end my time as first lady then celebrated with all of you. I want to close this by saying thank you. Thank you for everything you do for our kids and for our country. Being your first lady has been the greatest honor of my life. I hope ive made you proud. [applause] [applause] thank you. [applause] tomorrow, Randi Weingarten gives a speech on education policy and the next administration. 11 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan. Sean spicer talks about relations tween the press and the incoming administration. He shared the stage with David Axelrod and robert gibbs. This is about an hour. Axle road and robert gives took part in this at the university of chicago. Good evening, everyone. Happy new year. Im steve edwards, the executive director of the institute of politics at the university of chicago chicago and mitt my mr. To welcome you to tonights event featuring incoming whews press Secretary Sean Spicer and obama press secretary, robert gibbs in conversation with David Axelrod. We know that many of you on this campus, like much of america, feel stronglou
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