I first met Michelle Obama at the White House Easter Egg Roll in 2011, when I was 15. I was obviously nervous but was immediately put at ease when she gave me and my mom a big hug and we all instantly bonded over our height. “Oh, we like tall girls here,” she said, and that’s when I knew: We have the dopest First Lady ever.
When Mrs. Obama reached out to me last year and asked me to be part of the “This Is for My Girls” track, I immediately agreed. The song supports Let Girls Learn, a United States government initiative that she and the President launched to ensure that adolescent girls around the globe have access to the education they deserve. To be honest, I would have agreed to do anything for Mrs. Obama, but as the daughter of two teachers, learning happens to be something that really hits home for me.
Growing up, I watched my mom teach in the heart of Oakland, California, at inner-city schools that were always underfunded. My mom went above and beyond, working constantly to open her students’ eyes to an education that could lift them far beyond their current circumstances. She would introduce them to the arts, guide them through the language of Shakespeare, and show them the wonders of nature outside city life — all things that they wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. Watching her was magical; it instilled within me a true appreciation of and devotion to the importance of education. If I wasn’t in entertainment, I’d be a teacher in a heartbeat — guaranteed!
As necessary as school is in America, it’s even more vital in impoverished countries. This is especially true for girls, who are sometimes targets of physical violence for even trying to get an education, and who can do little to improve their lives or communities without schooling. One thing I love about education is that it’s a gift that gives forever. Once you have knowledge you are empowered, and no one can take it away from you. That’s why I love that the First Lady is tackling this global problem, and I’m honored that I got the opportunity to talk to her about Let Girls Learn before she leaves office this January. —ZENDAYA, AS TOLD TO SADE STREHLKE
Zendaya: What inspired you to start Let Girls Learn?
Michelle Obama: This issue has always been personal for me. I grew up in a working-class neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago where most folks, including my parents, didn’t have college degrees. But with a lot of hard work — and a lot of financial aid — I had the chance to attend Princeton and Harvard Law School, and that gave me the confidence to pursue my ambitions. A few years ago, I had the honor of meeting a young Pakistani woman named Malala Yousafzai, who was shot and nearly killed just for trying to go to school. I also heard about how nearly 300 girls in Nigeria were kidnapped from their school dorms in the middle of the night. There are girls like this in every corner of the globe. In fact, there are more than 62 million girls worldwide not attending school, and that’s an outrage.
Z: What do you think are the biggest obstacles for girls when it comes to getting a proper education?
MO: Sometimes the issue is resources: Parents can’t afford to pay for tuition, uniforms, or school supplies; or the nearest school is too far away and there’s no safe transportation; or there is a school nearby, but it doesn’t have adequate bathrooms for girls, so they have to stay home when they have their periods, and they wind up falling behind and dropping out. But often the problem is attitude. It’s about whether families and communities think girls are even worthy of an education in the first place. It’s about whether girls are valued only for their labor and reproductive capacities or for their minds as well. And it’s about whether women are viewed as second-class citizens or as full human beings entitled to the same rights and opportunities as men.
Z: Did you like school?
MO: I was an incredibly devoted student, and I would often wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning to study. But even so, there were still people who thought that a girl like me with a background like mine wasn’t really “college material.”
Z: Who did you look up to growing up?
MO: My parents. Even though they didn’t go to college themselves, they worked hard to be able to send us. My dad was a pump operator at the city water plant, and he didn’t earn much money. But he was determined to pay whatever tiny part he owed for my tuition on time every month. So even though he had multiple sclerosis and often struggled just to get dressed in the morning, he hardly ever missed a day of work. His determination and love are an inspiration to me every day.
Z: You recently traveled to several countries, including Liberia, to promote education rights for girls. What did you witness?
MO: The girls I’ve had the privilege to meet in my travels are doing everything right. Many wake up before dawn to work in order to help support and tend to their families, even before they set foot in a classroom. At school, they are thoroughly engaged and determined to learn as much as they can. They dream of being engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers, and doctors—the same kind of dreams girls have here in the U.S.
Z: What can we expect from Let Girls Learn in the future, especially after you leave the White House?
MO: I see myself — and my daughters — in these girls. Once you get to know them, you can’t just walk away. I plan on working on this issue for the rest of my life.
Production by Francine Nazario.
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