"Mentor Momma Michelle Obama" wanted to make the kids feel like the White House is also a place for them. So she came up with the clever idea of starting up a Mentoring Program which she held earlier today. 18 White House Staff Members and 13 of the girls gathered accompanied by the first lady.
Mrs. Obama said the program was started to let local kids "know that the president of the United States hears you and values you and cares about your growth and development."
The program is built to inspire 10th- and 11th-grade girls from public and private schools in Washington, Maryland and Virginia by accomplished women being accessible for assistance to the girls.
"It's also about understanding that all of us have had challenges and bumps along the way, and to know that there's just a level of moving through it that all of us have had to do," she said.
Mrs. Obama said that she and her husband, President Barack Obama, grew up in modest circumstances without a lot of access to power. But they did have parents and other people who had consistent interests in their lives. She listed her mother, neighbors and 5th-grade teacher as important mentors in her youth.
"We have some expectations from you as well," Mrs. Obama told the students. "That when you get to this position in your life that you do the same thing for somebody else."
Monthly meetings will be held.
The principals from the school chose which girls they felt would best benefit from the program.
The White House said the program will probably end up with 20 students and 20 mentors however the total number has not been confirmed.
They plan on eventually starting up a similar program for the boys as well.
I admire her for this because I have been a part of a group like this and you really feel great about doing something positive for the young which is very important because they really look up to us.
