The White House Blog: The First Lady

Michelle Obama Talks About Being a Mentor

First Lady Michelle Obama drops by the Girls Mentoring November activity in room 430 of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Nov. 29, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

February is Black History Month, and his year's theme, "Black Women in American Culture and History," honors African American women and the many roles they’ve played in the shaping of our nation.  

And in an interview with More magazine, First Lady Michelle Obama talks candidly about one of the roles that matters most to her, one that has been a part of her life since she was in high school, one that can have a crucial influence in shaping the next generation of American women and one she urges others to embrace: Mentor.

Mrs. Obama discusses the impact mentors have had in her life, and also what being a mentor has meant to her (one of the first people she mentored as a lawyer in Chicago was a fellow graduate of Harvard Law School named Barack Obama: “I made sure that he met the partners that he was working with; I had to take him out to lunch a couple of times” she tells the magazine).

And for the first time, the First Lady discusses a program she launched shortly after moving into the White House, a mentoring program she designed “to open a secret door for others that hadn’t been opened for me,” by pairing disadvantaged girls with some of the powerful women in the land. She tells the magazine:

“I wanted [the students] to experience this notion that if you can walk [through] the doors of the White House once a month and sit down with the first lady and her chief of staff and some other senior officials, and they’re talking to you and you get used to hearing your voice in the space, then it becomes not a big deal.”

And so her program pairs teenage girls with “this wonderful array of women who come from different backgrounds,” she says. “They’re senior leaders in President Obama’s administration, and they all have a story, right? They all have a set of challenges and struggles.” Those stories, Obama believes, are best told in person, over time, creating the kind of enduring bond the social media generation sorely lacks. “Even though our children are connecting in ways we never imagined,” she told a national summit on mentoring not long ago, “you’ve got an entire generation of young people truly in desperate need of a friend. Someone they can trust, an example they can follow.”

First Lady Michelle Obama Strikes a Pose for Instagram

A bit of photo fun was inevitable when the First Lady met Mike Krieger, co-founder of the photo sharing site Instagram, in the Blue Room of the White House earlier this week. Mike was one of the extraordinary Americans who exemplify the themes and ideals laid out in the 2012 State of the Union Address that were invited to join Mrs. Obama in her viewing box on Tuesday.

Check out a video of their Instagram shoot and see the results:

Interactive Feature: Who's in the First Lady’s Box, State of the Union Address 2012?

For nearly three decades, extraordinary Americans who exemplify the themes and ideals laid out in the State of the Union Address have been invited to join the First Lady in her viewing box. From teachers to small business owners and innovators, to health care reform beneficiaries and those serving in our armed forces – use the interactive feature below to learn more about the remarkable individuals who will join First Lady Michelle Obama tonight for the 2012 State of the Union Address.

Check out WhiteHouse.gov/sotu for an enhanced viewing experience of President Obama's State of the Union address and for opportunities to engage online with White House officials and even President Obama himself.

Read the full press release here.

Learn more about the 2012 State of the Union:

• Watch the enhanced version of the 2012 State of the Union Address
• Read President Obama’s Blueprint for an America Built to Last
• Take a deep dive into the data behind the President’s plan
• Video: Go behind the scenes as the President prepared his speech
• Find out how you can talk to Obama Administration officials about the President’s plan
• Photo Gallery: Scenes from the State of the Union

The President and First Lady Welcome the St. Louis Cardinals to the White House

First Lady Michelle Obama reacts to a joke by President Barack Obama as the President and Mrs. Obama welcome the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals to the White House to honor the team and their 2011 World Series victory, in the East Room, Jan. 17, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Today, the President and First Lady hosted the St. Louis Cardinals at the White House to congratulate the team on its World Series win last year.

The Cardinals, who President Obama called “the greatest comeback team in the history of baseball,” made the playoffs after rallying from a ten and a half game deficit with just 31 games left in the regular season. At one point, the team had less than a 4 percent chance of even making the playoffs.

The Series itself was an unforgettable one, the President said:

Of course, the most memorable moment was Game Six of the World Series.  I’ve got to say, that has to be one of the best baseball games of all time. Unbelievable game.  I will tell you guys, I had a bunch of early-morning stuff the next day, and you kept me up.  It was painful waking up the next morning.  But what an incredible game.