In her commencement address last Friday at Anacostia Senior High School in Washington, DC, First Lady Michelle Obama encouraged the graduating class—90 per cent of whom will attend college in the fall, many as the first in their family to do so—to find ways to get involved with the world and to study abroad:
“To those of you who are college bound in the fall, I just hope that you make the most of that experience. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. Make new friends; get to know your classmates. Take classes that’ll challenge the way you think about the world. Build relationships with professors that inspire you. Don’t sit in your room, get involved in activities that spark your passions and service organizations that touch your hearts.
“And the thing that I’ve been telling graduates all over this country is study abroad if you can. Find a way to travel the world. Above all, never stop finding new ways to push yourselves. Never stop finding new ways to learn and to grow.”
This speech is the third in a line of recent addresses to students (archives here) in which the First Lady has encouraged young Americans to “take it global” and travel and study abroad.
Thanks to the Alliance for International and Cultural Exchange for this post.