It’s been a week since America elected Donald Trump as its next president, and what a week it’s been. Part of the country is celebrating, while another part is mourning. It’s an emotional time for the entire country and that’s understandable.
Naturally, there have been a lot of feels at the 834 office. You put a bunch of strong, career-focused women together and opinions fly. One thing we can all intensely agree on is that Michelle Obama is a badass and we are going to miss the hell out of her. She may still be in the White House for another two months, but we’ve already gone into the mourning period.
Michelle is incredible and historic for many reasons. The first African-American first lady has spent eight years encouraging and inspiring us, as well as forming campaigns and backing causes that help make American a better place. Michelle, we love you and will miss you. Here are all our reasons why.
She is one of only three first ladies with graduate degrees
Michelle Obama is one of the most educated first ladies in history. She completed her undergrad at Princeton University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in African American studies. She also graduated cum laude, NBD. From there, she went on to receive her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.
She was Barack’s mentor and family breadwinner
Michelle’s first job out of Harvard Law was an associate position at Sidley & Austin, a corporate law firm. She was 25 years old and assigned to mentor 27-year-old Barack Hussein Obama II, who was a first-year law student at Harvard. At first, Michelle was hesitant to date Barack due to her leadership position. But we all know how that story went.
Before the Obamas settled into the White House, Michelle earned a higher salary than Barack – by six figures. While Barack had a successful career in community organizing, Michelle had the bigger salary as the vice president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals.
She has an awesome sense of humor
Seriously. Have you seen her do Carpool Karaoke with James Corden? The “He better be” response when Corden asked if Barack was in the Oval Office was CLASSIC. Or, you know, anytime she does an impression of her husband. For eight years, Michelle has kept it real with America and we love her for it.
She has a fire inside her that can’t be stopped
Michelle is not just a decorated career woman, but she’s also a mother, civil rights activist and women’s rights activist. She wants an America where her daughters – and all daughters – are equal. These things fuel her passion for a better country and we all benefit because of it.
She is an incredible speaker
That fire she has is seen in every single speech she gives. Just look at the speech she gave at the Democratic National Convention in July.
“…I realized that our time in the White House would form the foundation for who [our girls] would become and how well we managed this experience could truly make or break them. That is what Barack and I think about every day as we try to guide and protect our girls through the challenges of this unusual life in the spotlight, how we urge them to ignore those who question their father’s citizenship or faith.
How we insist that the hateful language they hear from public figures on TV does not represent the true spirit of this country.
How we explain that when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level. No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high.”
She is a role model to women
She’s the first lady, a mother and a wife who has had a successful career. She is an example to women that we can be whatever we want and that we are the ones who get to define ourselves. She champions women’s rights and in June, she attended the United State of Women Summit, where she told men to “be better,” whether that’s as a father, employer, friend or partner. She wants other women to succeed and is a great leadership example to all women.
Today, one of our clients will be recognized by FLOTUS herself. Representatives of West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology are at the White House to receive the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, which honors organizations that uses engagement in arts and humanities to create opportunities. WMCAT is one of 12 recipients that were chosen out of 251 nominations. We couldn’t be more proud of them!
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