© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

First Lady Talks Girl Power With Star-Studded SXSW Panel

Ryan E. Poppe
/
Texas Public Radio
First-lady Michelle Obama is partof the key note panel today at SXSW 2016 about education equality. She was joined on the panel by Missy Elliott, Diane Warren and Sophia Bush.

While the President may have kicked off this year’s South by Southwest festival, First Lady Michelle Obama was certainly no “second act.”

The all-female panel focused on how education equality is the building block all young women need in order to be successful in life. It included Obama, Missy Elliott, Diane Warren and Sophia Bush. Queen Latifah was the moderator.

Referring to the non-profit she helped kick-off, Let Girls Learn, The First Lady said 62 million women worldwide are denied access to a public education every day because of a lack of support at home, or there is no access to school for women in their country.

Obama said too often young girls dreams are snuffed out by “the doubters” and that’s one reason they need a stronger support system in schools.

“As I was trying to make my way and do good in school and apply to good colleges there were always people around me telling me what I couldn’t do, always telling me how far I should dream. You know that spurred me, 'I’ll show you,' they give you strength, but not every young person reacts to that, that way," Obama explained.

Highlighting her own successful career, as part of their discussion, the First Lady was asked by the audience whether she would consider a presidential run in the coming years.

“I will not run for president, no, no, not going to do it, and here’s why, because I have these two young people at home," Obama revealed.

Obama told the crowd she could do more outside of the White House without the constraints of being President of the United States.  

Ryan started his radio career in 2002 working for Austin’s News Radio KLBJ-AM as a show producer for the station's organic gardening shows. This slowly evolved into a role as the morning show producer and later as the group’s executive producer.