Michelle Obama comes to Denver to inspire mentoring

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DENVER - When she was looking for a place to make a big announcement First Lady Michelle Obama immediately thought about Denver. She spent the day in Colorado on Monday, kicking off what she hopes will become a successful nationwide program.

Mrs. Obama began her day speaking to a group of women and girls in the governor's mansion Monday as part of a leadership and mentoring initiative. She met with national and local women leaders there for a luncheon discussion. She was introduced to the luncheon by Colorado's First Lady, Jeannie Ritter.

"I am thrilled to be here. It's a pleasure. This is one of the things that I love to do most, is spending time with young people, particularly young girls with so much promise." Mrs. Obama said.

Mrs. Obama highlighted the accomplishments of the women filling the room citing their impressive backgrounds.

"They're cabinet secretaries, they're astronauts, they're scientists, they're actresses, they are activists, they are CEOs. It's a little bit of everything going on here," she said. "They've all made history in some way, shape or form. They've transformed lives and served their communities in a myriad of ways. And they're here today because they want to share a bit of themselves with you."

During her remarks, Mrs. Obama spoke of her family's modest beginnings and how she would never have imagined being the First Lady of the United States of America when she was the age of many of the girls present.

"I want you to first see me as Michelle Obama from the south side of Chicago, who went to public schools, whose parents were working class folks," she explained. "There is not magic to being here. There's no secret trick to success. And I think every single woman in this room would tell you that."

Hard work and focus are the keys to success, Mrs. Obama said and she expressed her hope that girls all over the country, not just inside the governor's mansion Monday, would use their mentors' examples as motivation for what their lives can be.

Monday afternoon, the visiting mentors and girls visited different schools in the area to discuss their careers and answer student questions. Mrs. Obama visited South High School in Denver.

"I want to be like her. I want to help others," Dunya Jimma, a student, said.

Thirty students at South High were selected to have a private audience with Mrs. Obama during her visit. The freshmen through senior students were nominated by their teachers for their leadership skills and for reasons such as their character and personal challenges they had overcome.

"What are some good attributes of a mentor?" student Kellyn Craig asked.

Mrs. Obama said: "You really want to find people who are open to inviting you into their world."

She went on to tell the group of students they are never too young to be a mentor to someone younger than them.

Questions ranged from ideas to inspire young people, to diversity, to the fairness of standardized testing.

"When I was growing up. I was never a good standardized test taker," Mrs. Obama said. "Don't let these tests defeat you. Move through them."

The students who got to hear Mrs. Obama's message firsthand were the envy of the student body.

"Most of my friends were like, 'Why you?'" Mostafa Darwish, a student, said. "Why not me? Yeah!"

The students who didn't get to meet her did, at least, get to hear her make an announcement over the intercom.

Mrs. Obama hopes that her message will go far beyond this room at South High School to inspire young people across the country.

"Be at school. Work hard. And don't let anybody doubt you," Mrs. Obama said.

The media didn't get to stay inside for long. The media was asked to leave after about 20 minutes because White House officials wanted the kids to feel like they were having a real mentoring session with the first lady and could ask whatever they wanted, with no cameras around

On Sunday, students spent the day setting up the school library and putting posters up in the hallway to try to liven up the school. The White House advance team was also there supervising.