President Obama delivered his third annual Back-to-School Speech today at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Washington D.C. In his address, he praised the work of 17-year-old Will Kim, a high school student from Fremont, California who founded a microloan nonprofit to help student entrepreneurs: Obama praises Fremont student during speech.
Happy Day Microfunds is a nonprofit organization that selects entrepreneurs from low-income schools and provides them with startup loans of $100 to $1,000, along with support for marketing and website. Here's the quote from the President's speech:
But I also want to emphasize this: with all of the challenges that our country faces today, we don’t just need you for the future – we need you now. America needs your passion, your ideas, and your energy right at this moment. I know you’re up to it because I’ve seen it. Nothing inspires me more than knowing that young people all across the country are already making their marks. They’re not waiting for anybody.President Obama also mentioned 16-year-old Amy Chyao from Richardson, Texas, who discovered a breakthrough process that uses light to kill cancer cells. I wrote about her earlier this year when she was invited to sit in the First Lady's box during Obama's State of the Union address.
They're students like Will Kim from Fremont, California, who launched a nonprofit that gives loans to students from low-income schools who want to start their own businesses. And he’s raising the money doing what he loves: through dodgeball tournaments and capture-the-flag games.
Talk about super kick-ass kids doing super kick-ass things to change the world. Here's more coverage of Will Kim's nonprofit: Fremont teen launches microloan nonprofit. And to read the full text of President Obama's Back to School Speech, go to the Whtie House website here. (Thanks, Peter.)