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(applause)
Mrs. Obama: Hello, everyone!
How are you all doing?
Please rest yourselves.
Let me start by thanking
Jacob for that wonderful
introduction and for
sharing your story.
It is amazing.
It's inspiring.
It is the reason why
we do what we do.
Just hearing how you
persevered and now you've gone
on to great life lessons like
hollandaise sauce and
béarnaise sauce.
(laughter)
And I thought I was happy
to have Malia make some
scrambled eggs.
(laughter)
But we're so proud of you
and we're so glad that
you're the leader
that you are.
So let's give Jacob
another round of applause.
(applause)
I also want to thank
the educators, the
philanthropists, the public
and private sector leaders
that are here today.
Hello to all of you.
Welcome.
But most of all, I want to
thank all the students that
are here.
Let me see our students
-- where are you?
I can sort of tell.
(applause)
And the young man who stood
up, I like that in you.
(laughter)
It's like, here I am.
Audience Member: Can
we get a picture later?
Mrs. Obama: A picture later.
(laughter)
Now, that's leadership.
(laughter)
But not just the students
in this room, but there are
thousands of young people
who are joining us remotely
from national conferences
for the Technology Students
Association as well as the
Future Business Leaders
of America.
So hi out there to
all of you as well.
(applause)
And really it's the students
across the country who are
studying and learning and
dreaming big -- you all are
really the reason
why we're here today.
We're here because
we believe in you.
We do.
Absolutely we
believe in you.
We're here because we want
to make sure that you get
all the skills and the tools
that you need to reach
your dreams.
And those dreams are amazing
and they're big and they're
huge, so you need all
the support you can get.
We're here because we know
that one of the best ways to
do that is through career
and technical education -- CTE.
And I don't know how many
people know about CTE, but
more people should, because
in today's world, a high
school diploma
just isn't enough.
I can't say that enough.
A high school diploma is not
enough to be able to compete
in today's
globalizing economy.
If you want to learn
cutting-edge skills, if you
want to prepare yourself for
college and a good career,
if you want to go into the
culinary arts like Jacob, or
start your own business, or
work in a hospital, or go
into 3D printing -- whatever
it is, it's important for
students to realize that a
four-year university is not
your only option.
It is not your only option.
We talk about four-year
universities all the time,
but when we talk about
Reach Higher, we talk about
completing high school and
going beyond in whatever
way, shape or form, and
it's not always a
four-year university.
In fact, for many young
people and their families,
CTE can be the best option
because you can get all the
professional skills you
need for a good job in a
high-demand field and you
can do it at a fraction of
the time and, more
importantly, a fraction of
the cost as compared to
a four-year university.
More importantly, these are
high-quality programs that
push students academically
and challenge students to
sharpen their critical
thinking, their
problem-solving, their
communication skills -- as
we can see with Jacob, who
had all that going on
all at once.
And increasingly -- and this
is very important -- there's
often a job at the end of
it, a paycheck waiting for
you right there
when you graduate.
And not a lot of college
graduates can often say that.
So Career and Tech programs
make a whole lot of sense.
And that's why across
the country, schools and
businesses are working
together to develop
curricula, which is
exciting, so that students
can get tailor-made courses
for the positions that
companies actually
need to fill.
This is why high schools are
partnering up with community
colleges so that young
people can earn college
credit and sometimes even
leave high school with
professional
credentials in hand.
And I speak at high school
graduations all around the
country, and I'm always
impressed when students come
up and say that they're
already ready to launch into
their field.
It's quite impressive.
And every day, students are
getting hands-on experience
through these opportunities
at hospitals and businesses,
schools and just about
everywhere else.
My staff tells me that
somebody is getting
experience on a 65-foot
research vessel out in the
ocean -- that's
happening somewhere.
You guys know about this?
It's pretty cool,
pretty cool.
And these kinds of
opportunities are leading to
a wave of innovation
from our young people.
Here at the Innovation Fair
today, I understand that
we're going to see a
four-inch cube satellite
that will be launched into
orbit to help us study and
analyze our
atmosphere and soil.
Pretty cool.
Yes, wow.
I agree.
(laughter)
There's a system of laser
sensors that detect a
baseball strike zone -- for
all you baseball fans, I'm
sure that's very exciting.
(laughter)
And a 3D printer that
creates chocolate sculptures
-- yes, everybody
likes that one.
(laughter)
Everybody can
connect with that.
So CTE programs like these
are good for students
because they can learn
new skills and find
their passion.
They're good for businesses
because they can tap into a
pipeline of skilled talent.
And they're good for our
country because these
programs help us grow our
economy, compete with other
countries, and unleash
the next generation of
entrepreneurs
and innovators.
And that's why, earlier this
year, my husband expanded
the United States
Presidential Scholars
program to honor some of our
best and brightest students
in Career and
Technical Education.
And later this summer, we're
going to be launching the
Reach Higher Career App
Challenge because we want to
make it easier for students
across the country to find a
CTE program that fits with
their passions and with
their goals.
So I know we've got some
folks here today from our
biggest tech companies, and
I want to challenge all of
you and people across the
country -- educators, career
counselors, our business
leaders, everyone out there,
I want you to put your heads
together and think about
ways to design a new app so
that we'll help students
connect with the programs
and the jobs they need to
realize their dreams.
I want you to help our
students see which jobs are
in high demand in
their communities.
I want you to help them see
which programs give them the
skills that they need.
And I also want you to help
them figure out how much all
of this costs and what their
future earning power might
be in that given field.
I mean, you can imagine
for a kid who may not be
motivated, if they see a job
title and a salary, they can
understand the purpose of it
all -- which we're always
trying to do with
our young people.
So imagine if all that could
happen through an app.
There are so many things an
app might do for our young
people and we want to see
what all of you will come
up with.
This challenge officially
launches in a couple of
weeks, but right now you can
go to edprizes.com to sign
up for updates and to
get more information.
So I hope you all take up
the challenge and see what
we can come up with.
But to all of the young
people here, I want you all
to know that we're doing
everything that we can to
help you fill your
potential, whether that's
making it easier for you to
find career pathways just by
using your smartphone;
whether it's everything my
husband is doing to bring
down the cost of higher
education and ultimately
make two-year community
colleges free for
responsible students.
That's a hope that we -
(applause)
We're also, in addition to
all that we're doing, we're
depending on you as the
students to do your
part as well.
And that means for all of
you here, I know you're
already doing it, but I
can't say it enough -- we
need you all to just
get it together.
To study as hard as you can.
To put everything into your
studies that you can do.
Reach higher for yourselves
every single day.
There has to be a hunger
that you all have that no
one can fund for you.
There can be no policy
written to make you find
your -- to prioritize
your education.
It's on you guys.
And every day you have to
come in with that hunger.
You got to be ready.
You got to be studying.
You got to be in class.
If you're online,
you got to be there.
You got to do those
assignments, make it
all happen.
So you've got to
finish the job.
No one can do that for you.
Not the President,
not the First Lady.
I don't care how much money
is out there, if you don't
have it here and here --
it's not going to happen.
So we want you to
complete your education.
That is a must.
There is no alternative.
Finish your education.
Whether you do it through
one of these fantastic CTE
programs, or whether you go
on to a community college,
four-year college --
whatever you do, you've got
to finish your education.
But you've got
to get something.
You've got to get a degree,
a certificate -- something
you've got to have.
And if you do that, you'll
have the tools that you'll
need to fulfill your dreams.
And as you work to get your
education -- I want to close
with what I said at the
outset -- just know that we
believe in you.
We do all of this because
we know you have the raw
material that it takes to do
whatever is in your heart to do.
Barack and I know this
because we stand where we
are today because we had a
lot of support and we had
something in our hearts and
minds that told us that we
could do it.
So we believe in
you -- all right?
If you don't walk away from
this with any other message,
is that you've got a whole
lot of folks who think you
can be great, and you've got
a country who actually needs
you to be great.
We're counting on you to be
that next generation to take
over all that we're doing.
So you got to be trained,
you got to be ready, you got
to be hungry, and you got
to take advantage of every
opportunity that
comes your way.
So keep up the great work.
I hope you have a phenomenal
time here at the White House.
Ask a lot of questions.
Be impressive.
Don't be shy.
(laughter)
I don't have to
tell that to you.
(laughter)
And just know that we are
going to keep working as
hard as we can -- not just
here in the White House,
but beyond.
Mentoring you and raising
the next generation up to be
great is something -- it's a
personal goal for me
and my husband.
So we're only
getting started.
So we're hoping that you'll
be ready to partner with us
when we get out of here.
Okay?
(laughter)
So I look forward to
everything you all will do
in the years ahead.
Enjoy the conference.
You all, thank you so much
for being here on behalf of
our young people.
Put your heads together;
let's figure out what more
we can do to keep these
kids moving in the
right direction.
Thank you all.
(applause)
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