First Lady urges students to work hard to achieve dreams
24 Jun 2011 Cape Times Michelle Jones Education Writer

Mikhail Hendricks and
The First Lady, Michelle Obama
PUPILS should not let their background stand in their way of attending a prestigious university and making their dreams a reality.
That was the message from US First Lady Michelle Obama while addressing a group of 50 pupils at UCT yesterday afternoon. Obama invited 50 pupils from five Cape Town schools located in historically disadvantaged communities to participate in a day-long visit to UCT.
Pupils from Leap Science and Maths School in Pinelands, Oude Molen Academy of Science and Technology in Pinelands, Cape Academy of Maths, Science and Technology in Constantia, Spine Road Secondary School in Mitchells Plain and Sophumelela Secondary School in Mitchells Plain were selected to participate in the programme.
Obama told the pupils she had made it her priority to travel around the world to meet young people and encourage them to reach their potential.“I can see the same promise in all of you as I do in my own girls. And that keeps me motivated. I want to make sure that you all see that promise in yourselves.” She said that, despite going to motivate others, she always left feeling inspired herself. “And that’s why I thought it would be wonderful to have you all come to the University of Cape Town. I wanted you to feel that you can fit in. This is a place for you.” Obama said there was no “magic process” to get into a good university. “There is no magic dust that helps students succeed at a place like this. It’s about hard work. And more important it’s about first believing in yourself.” Grade 12 pupil Nobuntu Fana said she had been encouraged by Obama’s message, which she understood as: “No matter if you are coming from disadvantage, that doesn’t stop you from realising your goals.”
Asked how the day at UCT had been, Nobuntu said: “I don’t want to say inspiring, but it was. It was motivating. I learnt a lot.” She had already applied to study at UCT next year and could clearly see that dream becoming a reality. Obama told the pupils how she had applied to top universities around America despite coming from a disadvantaged background. “Some folks didn’t think that someone with my background could succeed at universities like that.” Despite those reservations, Obama was accepted to Princeton University but wondered whether she would be able to succeed there among students who had been brought up so differently. Eventually she realised achieving success was not about where she was from or how much money she had. “Success is about working hard and believing you can do it,” she told the pupils. Obama took questions from the pupils who asked about her role models, advice for achieving dreams and definitions of success.
That was the message from US First Lady Michelle Obama while addressing a group of 50 pupils at UCT yesterday afternoon. Obama invited 50 pupils from five Cape Town schools located in historically disadvantaged communities to participate in a day-long visit to UCT.
Pupils from Leap Science and Maths School in Pinelands, Oude Molen Academy of Science and Technology in Pinelands, Cape Academy of Maths, Science and Technology in Constantia, Spine Road Secondary School in Mitchells Plain and Sophumelela Secondary School in Mitchells Plain were selected to participate in the programme.
Obama told the pupils she had made it her priority to travel around the world to meet young people and encourage them to reach their potential.“I can see the same promise in all of you as I do in my own girls. And that keeps me motivated. I want to make sure that you all see that promise in yourselves.” She said that, despite going to motivate others, she always left feeling inspired herself. “And that’s why I thought it would be wonderful to have you all come to the University of Cape Town. I wanted you to feel that you can fit in. This is a place for you.” Obama said there was no “magic process” to get into a good university. “There is no magic dust that helps students succeed at a place like this. It’s about hard work. And more important it’s about first believing in yourself.” Grade 12 pupil Nobuntu Fana said she had been encouraged by Obama’s message, which she understood as: “No matter if you are coming from disadvantage, that doesn’t stop you from realising your goals.”
Asked how the day at UCT had been, Nobuntu said: “I don’t want to say inspiring, but it was. It was motivating. I learnt a lot.” She had already applied to study at UCT next year and could clearly see that dream becoming a reality. Obama told the pupils how she had applied to top universities around America despite coming from a disadvantaged background. “Some folks didn’t think that someone with my background could succeed at universities like that.” Despite those reservations, Obama was accepted to Princeton University but wondered whether she would be able to succeed there among students who had been brought up so differently. Eventually she realised achieving success was not about where she was from or how much money she had. “Success is about working hard and believing you can do it,” she told the pupils. Obama took questions from the pupils who asked about her role models, advice for achieving dreams and definitions of success.