Everyone knows First Lady Michelle Obama is one of the most kick-ass women around. If you weren’t already convinced of this, here’s one more reason to take into consideration: Last Monday, FLOTUS launched a new initiative to inspire students to seek higher education. It’s called Better Make Room, and it’s a social media approach to motivate students to set goals and get the support they need in order to achieve them. Better Make Room has paired with big time partners such as Vine, Funny Or Die, CollegeHumor, and The CW Television Network. Check out their promo video below.
What does this matter to students like us at SEU, who are already pursuing higher education?
1. It means we are setting an example
We are seeking higher education in a time where it’s not easy to access. One way or another, we made it happen. Taking out loans, applying for financial aid, picking up those extra shifts at work. So many of us have done it all. College isn’t cheap–we know that. Especially at a private university. But here we are, and we are making it happen. We can use this to inspire our siblings or our younger friends and family so that they can do it too. America #BetterMakeRoom for our generation AND the next–because we mean business.
2. It means we’ve got to speak up
This is our time to be loud and proud. Proud of our accomplishments and proud of our university for presenting us with some of these opportunities. But it also means it’s our time to voice our opinion on higher education. What do we think is working? What’s not working? Raising our voice is one way to ignite change. Someone is listening, and it could change the futures of up-and-coming generations. Having these conversations and reaching out to our elected leaders is what will ignite change.
3. It means that we’re getting it right
College is a time of all sorts of uncertainties. And that’s the beauty of it, right? Finding who you are comes from the mistakes you make and opportunities you take. The stress of classes mixed with leadership roles and club, organization, and group involvement (not to mention balancing a healthy social life) makes it hard to get things right all the time. Heck, lots of us are still unsure of what we want to do with our lives once we graduate! But something that we can be sure of is we are taking the right path. We’re taking the path of education. We’re setting ourselves up for a better quality of life down the road.
So thank you, Michelle Obama, for seeing the light in us and generations to come. Thank you for believing in us and helping us make our dreams seem a little bit closer to reality. Thank you for telling the generations that came before us to never underestimate us, and telling them they #BetterMakeRoom.