President Barack Obama will be the guest speaker at the North and West Campus graduation ceremony.<\/p>\n
The event will take place on April 29 at 5 p.m. at the James L. Knight International Center. Obama will address nearly 4,000 students.<\/p>\n
\u201c[It] is a true honor for our institution, and more importantly, the President\u2019s presence and words will no doubt serve as a lifelong inspiration to our graduating students and their families,\u201d said North Campus President Jos\u00e9 A. Vicente said.<\/p>\n
Obama will be the third U.S President in the past four years to speak at a Miami Dade College graduation.<\/p>\n
Former President George W. Bush spoke at the Kendall Campus commencement ceremony in 2007; William Jefferson Clinton spoke during the North and West Campus graduation in 2010.<\/p>\n
According to Hannah August, White House spokesperson, there is no information about Obama\u2019s speech at this time.<\/p>\n
College President Eduardo Padr\u00f3n\u2019s affiliation with Obama, helped make the visit possible. In October 2010, Padr\u00f3n became the Chair of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, one of the many national recognitions he has received.<\/p>\n
According to Mendieta, the College does not pay for guest speakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just has very strong relationships at Washington and when he asks for something, people typically agree,\u201d Juan Mendieta the director of communications at MDC said.<\/p>\n
Since he took office, Obama\u2019s administration has concentrated on community colleges.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today\u2019s fast-changing economy, we\u2019re also revitalizing America\u2019s community colleges,\u201d Obama said during the state of the union address in January 2011. \u201cAmerica has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree.\u00a0 And so the question is whether all of us \u2013- as citizens, and as parents \u2013- are willing to do what\u2019s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even some students who are not supportive of Obama still view the opportunity to hear him speak as a privilege.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because I don\u2019t agree with his ideals and policies, doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t find it amazing that he\u2019ll be attending the graduation,\u201d said Priscilla Almeida, a 19- year- old political science major.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Barack Obama will be the guest speaker at the North and West Campus graduation ceremony. The event will take place on April 29 at 5 p.m. at the James L. Knight International Center. Obama will address nearly 4,000 students. \u201c[It] is a true honor for our institution, and more importantly, the President\u2019s presence and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":371,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\n