Tuesday April 26, 2016, Michelle Obama and many other celebrities came to New York City’s Harlem Armory to celebrate National College Signing Day. National College Signing Day is a part of her Better Make Room campaign, which launched last fall. She has made it known that she wants to make a campaign to encourage the necessity of ensuring a strong education for young people and to give students the resources they need to be successful.
She first announced her nationwide tour in 2014, which led her to hosting more than 600 events in different communities across the country. Within the last decade, researchers say that only 10 percent of people in the lower class earn a bachelor degree, compared to more than 50 percent in the upper class. With this in mind, Obama wants everyone to have a fair shot of being successful regardless of their financial and economic background.
Reports say that more students are earning their degrees and earning higher-paying jobs, while loans, debt and delinquencies are declining. By 2025, education advocates believe more than 1 million students will be enrolled in college, at least 6 million more students will apply to college and many people will be able to receive money from FAFSA. At yesterday’s event, more than 4,000 high school students from all over New York came out to celebrate with the very engaging and inspiring First Lady. The vocal and engaged audience seemed to soak up the experience with much gratitude and excitement. As well as Obama, many other celebrities like Jidenna, Diggy Simmons, Rev. Run, Allan Houston, Jay Pharaoh, Melissa McCartney and LaLa and Carmelo Anthony came out to celebrate with the scholars. “These Grammy Award winners, these NBA All-Stars, these Hollywood celebrities all wanted to be a part of this day,” Obama said as she started her inspirational speech about students being dedicated to hard work and far-reaching academic achievement.
“But we also know that even in those moments when you were tired and a little frustrated, that you never gave up. You never stopped fighting for your dreams. And you did it! Every single one of you in this room is going to college! … It’s about celebrating your academic achievements. We are celebrating education up in here!”
Along with this campaign, the President and First Lady also created the White House College Opportunity Call to Action, where they ensure that administrators have the resources to monitor and educate the students. They want communities to partner up with the schools and families so they can thrive and be successful. They are also recruiting highly trained high school counselors who can guide the scholars in the right path.
The next College Signing Day will be April 29 in Washington, D.C. It will be hosted by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The Education Secretary John B. King Jr. will be giving remarks as well.