West Philadelphia High School student Brandon Ford (far right) attends the State of the Union address sitting in the first lady Michelle Obama’s box.
Newsworks: West Philly High School Junior Brandon Ford is returning home today after a whirlwind trip to Washington, DC. Tuesday night he watched the State of the Union Address alongside First Lady Michelle Obama.
“It was an honor to be there,” Ford said. “It was an honor to sit in her box and it was an overwhelming, great experience for me.” Ford shook hands with President Obama and and got a picture with the First Lady….
Ford had been invited to a speech at the White House in September as part of the West Philly Hybrid X team. The group won national attention for outlasting teams of professionals and college students in an international competition to design fuel-efficient cars.
But Ford forgot his ID, so he wasn’t allowed through security and into the White House. He had to wait outside, where the Hybrid X Team’s director, Simon Hauger, said a White House staffer took pity on him. “One of the staffers there felt really bad that Brandon wouldn’t get to come in so she said she would try to do something for him,” Hauger said. “Our gut was a letter or a photo or something like that.”
Nothing came in the mail and after a few weeks, everyone thought the President had forgotten about Brandon. Then last week, a call came from Washington asking if Brandon would like to sit with the First Lady during the State of the Union.
“We were utterly surprised and delighted,” Hauger said. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer kid, he’s really delightful.”
Read the full article here
White House.gov
Sometimes, great things happen.
EPIC WIN.
GO BRANDON!!!
I wish you much success Brandon :D
So very typical of our wonderful President and his staff!!! I’m so very proud!
“everyone thought the President had forgotten about Brandon.”
And I say, please, please stop putting everything on the President. He’s an extremely busy man with major issues to tend to, so of course it is up to his delegates to do the light lifting. I really wish people would stop invoking his name whenever things don’t come off perfectly. I don’t know how he stands the pressure put upon him from the entire country. As Colin Powell recently said, we elected a president, not Superman. And of course, my congrats to Brandon…..what a great young man. I bet he didn’t blame the President. He lives not far from me, by the way.
Incidentally, my mini-rant was towards the news report, not anyone here :-D
IMHO, Brandon is an example of someone the right would deny the opportunity to make great contributions to the world, and as a retired teacher, it makes me sick to my stomach that many of them want to abolish the Department of Education and don’t want to vote for the Dream Act. I had the opportunity to teach kids from every walk of life, and I loved them all, whether they were the best academically, or not. We only punish ourselves when we refuse to allow everyone the opportunity to work and make contributions to the world. I was happy to hear the president talk about the DREAM Act last night and to let Congress know that it is not off the table. I get so upset with the republicans when they blame the president for our deeply flawed immigration policy and then turn around and vote against any proposal he brings to the table to address the issue. It tells me that they consider immigration reform the same way they consider job creation policies. They use them for talking points to rile up their base, but when it’s time to address the issue and actually take steps toward solving the problem, they move the goalposts and throw up barriers meant to stop Congress from working on it.
As the President would say, ‘Thank you, majii for being one of our “Nation Builders.”‘
I missed the First Lady’s entrance. Was the Tucson hero Daniel Hernandez in her box?
This is the very reason that you have to love the Family in the W.H. They are the best in making regular Americans feel so special!!