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Wale and Terrence Jenkins will join the First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House this week for the 2015 Beating the Odds Summit as part of Mrs. O’s Reach Higher initiative. More than 130 college-bound students from across the country will be hosted at this event on Thursday, July 23rd.

Wale will perform for the students, who are largely from urban, rural, foster, homeless and special-needs backgrounds, and he will also participate in a panel moderated by E! News co-host Terrence Jenkins, which will feature the First Lady, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and 1vyG co-founder Manuel Contreras.

“I’m beyond honored and grateful to be involved in the First Lady’s ‘Reach Higher’ initiative and to have the opportunity to sit down with her, as well as perform for the kids of D.C. I believe that the youth are the first step in creating a better country, so to be involved in a program that aims to enrich their lives is truly the greatest reward,” says Wale. “Having grown up in Washington, D.C., being invited to the White House by the First Lady is a dream come true. Thank you to Mrs. Obama and her entire staff for this opportunity.”

Terrence Jenkins is also ecstatic to be a part of this initiative.

“I am humbled that the First Lady invited me to moderate the keynote conversation at the ‘Reach Higher’ summit,” he stated. “In addition to working with the White House on the ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ program, which also helps our youth stay on track, the summit this week will allow me to be a part of another incredibly valuable program that aims to enrich the lives of these students.”

The Reach Higher initiative is Michelle Obama’s effort to inspire all students in America to complete their education past high school, whether at a professional training program, a community college, or a four-year college or university. The end goal for this initiative is for  America to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by the year 2020.

 

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