Eighth grade students were visited by Mr. Michael Wear on December 2nd, who was one of the youngest White House staffers in modern American history, working with President Barack Obama from 2012. He spoke about his job navigating religious relations. He also told stories about how he got his job and why he loved it.
When Mr. Wear was 18 years old, he met Senator Obama at a political event for the Democrats. Upon getting to the hotel where he was staying for this event, he noticed that there weren’t many people there. He asked at the front desk where everyone was and found out that he had the wrong date for the event. He had gotten there two days early. Disappointed, he was heading back to his room when he ran into Mr. Obama, then a US Senator. Mr. Wear told Obama that he thought Obama would make a good president and also said that he would like to work for him someday. Obama’s response was a polite “no.”
After the convention, Mr. Wear sent multiple letters to Obama’s administration saying that he was there if they wanted him, and that he could help the administration, or, for that matter, help anyone at all.
Mr. Wear shared his thoughts on various topics.
Electoral College
It’s there for a good reason. I think that Democrats are looking for anyone to blame but themselves [for losing the election]. Maybe if we got rid of the Electoral College, there would be more turmoil; maybe we need electoral reforms. There would have to be a real movement to undo the system that’s currently in place. It would be really complicated to change. Congress and State Legislation don’t want it to change. It’s a good thing to study.
Faith-based work
The faith community is large. Part of my work was making sure faith-based groups can apply for grants and things like that.
Michelle Obama
I think that most of you know that she started the Let’s Move Initiative, which promoted eating healthy food, exercising, and making sure that kids eat. In the faith community, you could visit a house of worship and keep track of how many steps you’ve walked and celebrate with the FLOTUS. And she also worked with policies.
“Her mother was very religious. I got to accompany them to church, and I got to see them in a more personal way. That was really cool.
White House Insight
Being in the White House has an amazing power. It can bring people together – people will answer and come when you call for them. It’s a very convenient power.
