What do you do when Michelle Obama walks in while you’re talking about the importance of learning a second language? Keep your cool.
That was the situation for East Palo Alto Academy (EPAA) student Edgar Arroyo during a recent videoconference at Stanford. Arroyo was invited, along with four peers from his high school and several Stanford students, to take part in a virtual meeting with Obama during her trip to China.
EPAA is a charter school affiliated with the Stanford Graduate School of Education.
The meeting took place in two highly immersive classrooms — one at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the other at the Stanford Center at Peking University — that made it seem like all were in the same room.
While waiting for the first lady to arrive, the students in each classroom chatted with Mariano-Florentino Cuella, the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford. Cuellar asked how he could get his children to be more interested in speaking a second language.
As Arroyo dished advice to Cuellar (“Speak Spanish always to them”), Obama entered and made her way to a seat.
“Hello, First Lady!” Arroyo said, without skipping a beat.
Obama was briefed by Cuellar about the topic of conversation, and the first lady gave a thumbs-up to Arroyo. She noddingly approved of his “sound advice” to Cuellar and the others.
After the exchange, Arroyo said the video conference was “fun and informative.” He said he learned the importance of learning a second language and about another culture and of studying abroad.
The other participants from EPAA — Blanca Diaz, Gurjeet Chahal, Juan Gabriel and Lucia Gonzalez — also enjoyed the top level chit chat.
Diaz said the experience "has opened my eyes to the importance of connecting and cooperating with students across the globe."
And Gonzalez said she is now "much more aware of the importance of studying abroad and building bridges within cultures." She called the videoconference experience "rewarding."
For more about Obama's visit to the Stanford Center at Peking University and the videoconference, click here.
