Freshmen students at Howard University received front row seats to a taping of Late Night with Seth Meyers along with special guest, Nick Cannon.
But, that was just half of what was in store for the audience.
Amber Ruffin, the first black woman writer in late night show history, kicked things off. She got the students to open up, asking them about their hometowns and special interests.
The group perked up when Ruffin asked, “How many of you own a business?”. Many of them spoke passionately of their entrepreneurship and non-profits, showing off their creativity.
Seth Meyers soon took the stage, bringing out Nick Cannon shortly after. What the crowd did not know was a third mystery guest would soon take the stage. First Lady Michelle Obama walked into the room.
The students erupted in cheers.
SURPRISE @HowardU! 🎓#ReachHigher pic.twitter.com/FgVFMwEDjA
— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) September 1, 2016
And the three jumped right into the convo.
FLOTUS received a warm welcome at Howard University pic.twitter.com/L9F8S1BVv7
— LaVita Tuff, J.D. (@lavitatuff) September 1, 2016
From there the First Lady took questions from the crowd and went into detail about the impact of being away from home during her undergraduate years and how it shaped her future success.
“It taught me how to open up, how to try new things that are scary, how to buck expectations and beat the odds, and all that good stuff. So, I mean, this is one of the reasons why we promote Reach Higher and getting kids to own their future and go to college, if possible, because it changes your life,” Mrs. Obama said referencing the initiative encouraging students to attain higher education.
Her appearance also came in conjunction with the “Better Make Room” campaign, an interactive movement pushing young people to achieve endless goals.
“I knew my father had taken out a loan, and he was a blue-collar worker, so I knew I had to get it together and make sure I was doing my best,” the First Lady said describing her studies as a sociology major before heading to law school. “So I tried to be a serious student and not procrastinate, but I was still somebody that would be described as somebody who liked to have fun, too, and go to the occasional party, or two or three. A little turn-up.”
Nick Cannon takes questions from Howard University students for FLOTUS and Seth Myer pic.twitter.com/u9rh7ieojw
— LaVita Tuff, J.D. (@lavitatuff) September 1, 2016
Cannon, who recently enrolled at Howard, began his first semester just last month.
“I’m here because I have a real thirst for knowledge. I feel like that’s why we’re all here in this room,” Cannon said.
But TV host of America’s Got Talent is not in it alone.
“I got my brother here, he’s a junior,” Cannon joked. “But he doesn’t wanna hang out with me because I’m a freshman!”
“He’s embarrassed by you,” Mrs. Obama chimed in. “You’re just a young freshman.”
Sophomore Shauntee Foctor asked the panel, “What did your freshman year teach you about yourself?”.
And in true First Lady fashion, Mrs. Obama gave some of the best advice that even grads can learn from.
“So for all of you sitting here with those doubts in your head, because those whispers of doubt, they stay with you for a very long time — ignore them. Brush them off. And just do the work. Do the work. And it’s the doing of the work that gets you through. It’s not what other people think of you. And I still carry that with me today as First Lady of the United States, because there are people who don’t think I should be doing that, either. And it’s been about eight years now. ”
Cannon had a full circle moment when a student told the actor that he was an integral part in deciding which extracurricular activity to choose. His lead role in the 2002 film, Drumline is what inspired the student to go to college and join the band. Although Cannon challenged the student to a battle afterwards, we all knew who would win.
