Michelle Obama Meets 100 Young Women Before Oval Office Opening
Michelle Obama spoke with 100 young women at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Sunday, giving them private access inside the oval office site before it opens to the public on Friday, June 19. The gathering took place in the center's Elie Wiesel Auditorium, where she appeared with her brother Craig Robinson and Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson.
Obama Presidential Center Sunday
The audience came from the Girls Opportunity Alliance Network, and the session included a question-and-answer period. Madison O'Shields, a rising sophomore at Spelman College, asked the first question: "Who was your Michelle Obama?"
Obama answered: "My biggest mentors were the people I saw every day." She also spoke about her upbringing, saying, "I grew up right in South Shore, went to Whitney Young, had a strong neighborhood community."
Michelle Obama and Quinta Brunson
On the same day, Obama sat down with Brunson to record a podcast with a group of young girls in the audience. The former first lady called the visit a full-circle moment at the center, where she returned to the South Side after growing up in South Shore.
Barack Obama was also in Chicago ahead of the opening, spending time on the center's basketball court and the new playground in Jackson Park. The center's public opening on Friday comes before road closures begin Monday, including stretches of Midway Plaisance and Stony Island.
Girls Opportunity Alliance Network
One of the people in the room, University of Illinois student Kari Mack, said the event left a strong impression after hearing from Obama in person. She said, "She's really humble in the position and the power that she holds, so it was an amazing experience to be able to hear from her."
Madison O'Shields and Mack are both South Side natives, adding a local thread to a visit built around a center that is about to open its doors publicly. For the 100 young women in the auditorium, the immediate takeaway was access: a direct conversation with Obama, Robinson, and Brunson before the public gets in.
