Presidential Experience For Ark Putney Students
A life time opportunity to meet President Obama and attend his Town Hall speech
On Saturday 23rd April five Sixth Form students from Ark Putney Academy were selected to meet Barack Obama at a town hall meeting in central London.
The students were selected after the American Ambassador, Matthew Barzun spoke to the academy’s Sixth Form and was so impressed by their questions and passion for global politics that he invited them to meet Obama. Maia Drummond, William Iheji, Rosalee Henry, Xavier Bailey and Francini Nuernberg all had the chance to hear Obama speak and then deliver an extended question and answer session with a range of young people from schools and universities all over the country.
The students all agreed they came away feeling truly inspired and energised by his words.
Francini, who was also interviewed by Reuters immediately after the speech, told the press; ‘it was an honour to meet him. Obama really encouraged us to fight for the things we believe in to create change in the world.’
The students also appeared on television during the event and afterwards, when they were interviewed for channel 4 news. Maia said, ‘Obama reflected on his achievements and his faults and also showed great ambition and optimism for the future. My inspiration? I believe so!’
Edward Davison, Deputy Head of Sixth Form at the academy commented,“It would be fair to say that this really was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the students and an incredibly proud moment for Ark Putney Academy. Let’s hope some of the inspiration rubs off on all of us!”
April 29, 2016