President Obama's National Address to Students

While listening to President Obama's Speech the first thing that really stood out to me was his ability to relate to the students. He constantly reminded them that he too was a student once; a student that made mistakes but did not allow those mistakes to define who he was or who he would become. I find that it is important for students, especially at the high school age, to be reminded of future and its endless possibilities. The situation that they are in now doesn't have to determine their future. They can change their circumstances IF they have the will to take responsibility for themselves. Students can often be so consumed with what is going on at that time and how they feel at that moment. A leader like President Obama, regardless of political views, stands as a good role model to the students of America
He reminds them that you can change your circumstances as he did.

After listening to President Obama's speech, a point he mentioned which had made the largest personal impact on me was his being a first generation college student. I myself am a first generation college student. It is one of the hardest obstacles to overcome. I work for a student support organization which helps students achieve their goals. Our target population is students of first generation college attendance. Without the support of others who understand what I am trying to over come, I do not believe I would have made it this far. For our President to have come from a background and to represent a greater majority of the population of the United States is amazing. I believe his role will have a positive influence on many students of American. I can only hope that he will do his BEST to advocate strongly for the student support services offered by programs such as TriO, so that we can keep our responsibilities to our country and make it out into the endless possibilities that wait for us upon our graduation.