– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

(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)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
perseverance /ˌpɜːrsɪˈvɪərəns/ C1	noun - steady persistence in a course of action despite difficulty or delay
leadership /ˈliːdəʃɪp/ B2	noun - the act or skill of guiding or directing a group
entrepreneurship /ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜːrʃɪp/ C1	noun - the process of designing, launching, and running a new business
curriculum /kəˈrɪkjʊləm/ C1	noun - the subjects comprising a course of study in a school or university
opportunity /ˌɒpərˈtjuːnɪti/ B2	noun - a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something
credential /krɪˈdenʃəl/ C1	noun - a qualification, achievement, personal quality, or aspect of a person's background
scholarship /ˈskɒləʃɪp/ B2	noun - financial aid awarded to a student to further education
ambition /æmˈbɪʃən/ B2	noun - a strong desire to achieve something
potential /pəˈtɛnʃəl/ B2	noun - latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success
motivation /ˌmoʊtɪˈveɪʃən/ B2	noun - the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way
collaboration /kəˌlæbəˈreɪʃən/ C1	noun - the action of working with someone to produce or create something
technology /tɛkˈnɒlədʒi/ B2	noun - the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes
globalizing /ˈɡloʊbəlaɪzɪŋ/ C1	adjective - making something worldwide in scope or application
competitiveness /ˌkɒmpəˈtɪtɪvnəs/ C1	noun - the quality of being able to compete successfully
professional /prəˈfɛʃənl/ B2	adjective - relating to or connected with a profession
skill /skɪl/ B1	noun - the ability to do something well
demand /dɪˈmænd/ B2	noun - the desire of consumers for particular products or services verb - to ask for something forcefully
apprenticeship /əˈprɛntɪsʃɪp/ C1	noun - a system of training a new worker by having them work with experienced staff
graduate /ˈɡrædʒu.eɪt/ B1	verb - to successfully complete an academic degree
funding /ˈfʌndɪŋ/ B2	noun - money provided, especially by an organization or government, for a particular purpose

Key Grammar Structures

• Just hearing how you persevered and now you've gone on to great life lessons like hollandaise sauce and béarnaise sauce.

  ➔ Present Perfect (have/has + past participle) - 'you've gone'

  ➔ The present perfect indicates an action that started in the past and continues to have relevance in the present. Here, it shows the subject's progress – they **'ve gone'** on to learn new skills *after* persevering.

• We're here because we believe in you. We do. Absolutely we believe in you.

  ➔ Emphasis with short answers and adverbs ('Absolutely')

  ➔ The repetition of 'We believe in you' and the addition of 'Absolutely' and the short answer 'We do' are used for **emphasis**, conveying strong conviction. The use of short answers is a common way to reinforce a statement.

• 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.

  ➔ Multiple 'if' clauses for hypothetical situations.

  ➔ The repeated use of **'if'** creates a sense of numerous possibilities and emphasizes the wide range of paths students can take. The structure highlights that regardless of a student's aspirations (**'whatever it is'**), a four-year university isn't the sole route to success.