Obama says he is 'going to cry' at Malia's high school graduation
President Obama told reporters he will not speak at daughter Malia's high school graduation this spring, but assuring everyone there will be tears.
President Obama told reporters he will not speak at daughter Malia's high school graduation this spring, but assuring everyone there will be tears.
President Obama鈥檚 oldest daughter Malia, 17, is set to graduate from high school this spring 鈥� a fact that the Commander in Chief would rather ignore.
鈥淢alia鈥檚 school asked if I wanted to speak at commencement and I said no,鈥� the president said Wednesday while speaking in Detroit. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to be wearing dark glasses鈥� and I鈥檓 going to cry.鈥澛�
Malia and her younger sister Sasha attend the private Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.. 聽Vice President Joe Biden鈥檚 grandchildren also attend the school.聽聽
鈥淥ne piece of advice that I鈥檝e given her is not to stress too much about having to get into one particular college,鈥� Obama told a group of students in Iowa last fall. 鈥淛ust because it鈥檚 not some name-brand, famous, fancy school doesn鈥檛 mean that you鈥檙e not going to get a great education there.鈥澛�
Even with the President鈥檚 advice Malia has toured an impressive group of schools, including six of the eight Ivies 鈥� Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania 鈥� as well as New York University, Tufts, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford, Barnard and Wesleyan.
Malia has tried to stay under the radar during her college tours, despite the schools putting on their best show for the president鈥檚 daughter. To help Malia keep a low profile on the tours, First Lady Michelle Obama has opted to stay home for some of the trips.聽
鈥淵ou want to have as informed a visit as possible, just like anyone else who is a college applicant,鈥� Lisa Caputo, the press secretary to Hillary Clinton when the first lady鈥檚 daughter Chelsea was touring colleges in the late 1990s, told The New York Times. 鈥淵ou want to let them get a feel 鈥� what鈥檚 the vibe on campus 鈥� without being followed by a whole swarm of people.鈥�
Before Malia heads off to college in the fall, the president has some advice for his daughter.聽
鈥淭he whole point is for you to push yourself out of your comfort level, meet people you haven鈥檛 met before, take classes that you hadn鈥檛 thought of before,鈥� Obama said in Des Moines last fall. 鈥淪tretch yourself. Because this is the time to do it, when you鈥檙e young.鈥澛�
But come the fall, the Father-in-Chief may need some advice himself.
The University of Southern California Dean of Students, Brian Harke, offers weepy parents 鈥� like the president 鈥� adjustment strategies, such as limiting phone calls and letting college students tackle their own problems.聽