When your friend asks you to fill in for her at the White House because she can’t go, you say two things:
- Who’s too busy to go to the White House?
- YES!
Those are the exact things I said when Christine asked if I’d be able to attend the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards ceremony at the White House (you can check out her previous coverage here).
The National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards recognized 12 programs from around the country for their effectiveness in helping young people develop learning and life skills and engaging them in the arts or humanities.
First Lady Michelle Obama opened up the ceremony with some words about the importance of arts programs for our youth:
“These outstanding programs are expanding horizons, changing lives, and helping young people fulfill their dreams—across America and around the world. Each of these programs is using achievement in the arts and humanities as a bridge to achievement in life.”
Once technology decided to let me be great, I caught some of her remarks on periscope. Check it out:
One of the young award recipients, André Massey Jr. talked about how the writing program at his school changed his life. He talked about how becoming a poet kept him from making bad decisions and ending up on the streets. André talked about how his relationship with his father began to improve as he began expressing himself more through poetry. It’s one thing to be told how amazing these programs are, it’s quite another thing to hear a young man talk about how something so seemingly simple turned his life around.
It was an absolute pleasure to see how schools and organizations all over the country are making our young people a priority by providing them with healthy outlets to express themselves.
How have Arts & Humanities programs enriched your life or the lives of your children?
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