Obama’s resilience message resonates with audience
Michelle Obama was welcomed to Calgary with a standing ovation from a sold-out crowd of 6,000 at the Calgary Stampede Corral on Friday night.
Dubbed An Evening with Michelle Obama, the former first lady of the United States was in town for an inspirational discussion with Cassie Campbell, two-time Olympic gold medallist and former captain of Team Canada’s women’s hockey team.
As Campbell moderated, Obama walked the crowd through her early life growing up in Chicago, her time as a lawyer, and meeting her future husband, who would later become the first African-American president of the United States.
Obama poked some fun at her husband, former U.S. president Barack Obama, saying she never thought a man with “big ears” and the middle name Hussein would be elected president.
But the two women also riffed on topics close to Obama’s heart, like inspiring women and young girls to attend post-secondary institutions, and her passion for supporting military families.
Campbell asked Obama when she thought there would be a female U.S. president. She said the United States will be ready for a woman president “as soon as women are ready” to elect one.
“Because we had a woman that was qualified, she’s highly educated, trained, probably the most experienced person to run for the presidency,” Obama said, referring to Hillary Clinton.
“There were women in my country that didn’t vote for her because she wasn’t quite right, and looked at the alternative.”
Obama also delivered a message to the youth of the world on adversity and overcoming barriers, advising kids to block out “negative energy.”
“I want to remind young people that you just don’t wind up here, that there is struggle — that there are haters out there and the people that will try and block you from your dream and discourage the possibility you know exists within you,” Obama said.
“But what gets you through is resilience and practising ways to protect yourself from those negative voices.”
As first lady from 2009 to 2017, Obama launched and led four major projects, including Let’s Move!, an initiative tackling childhood obesity, and Let Girls Learn, a program helping adolescent girls around the world go to school.
A lawyer and graduate of Harvard law school and Princeton University, Obama’s career highlights include being named associate dean of student services at the University of Chicago, and vice-president of community and external affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Obama’s talk was organized by tinePublic, which has previously brought speakers including Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton to Calgary.
The group is also bringing popular television talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres to the Scotiabank Saddledome on April 21.
Tickets for A Conversation With Ellen DeGeneres can be purchased by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca or calling 1-855-985-5000.