One of First Lady Michelle Obama’s guests at the 2015 State of the Union address was chosen because of his inspirational story – a man whose best friend had been murdered in high school, a man who was in and out of homeless shelters, overcame those obstacles and managed to work his way toward a high school diploma and eventually attend college.
Much like the Obama administration itself, Anthony Mendez’ story wasn’t quite what it seemed since he admitted in a revealing column that he “felt like a fraud.”
Mendez confessed to knowing well before he even checked his grades during his first semester at the University of Hartford that he had failed miserably. He knew that he had failed before Michelle Obama invited him to attend the State of the Union speech.
“Before even checking, I knew that I had failed all my classes,” he wrote. “With a GPA that didn’t even reach 1.0, I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to return next semester.”
Still, Obama brought him to attend the President’s speech.
Afterwards, things only got worse for Mendez …
Via the Daily Caller:
Just days after returning from the State of the Union, Mendez had a sit-down with the college president.
“At the meeting, the university president and various other school officials asked about attending the speech, and I told them all about the incredible opportunity,” Mendez says. “Then they showed me my grades. They told me they would give me one more chance, but that this semester, I would need to excel. They offered support and guidance — they wanted me to succeed.”
But that didn’t happen.
“I found it hard to get back into the groove of school,” he writes. “My second semester at Hartford let me grow and helped me better understand myself and the world around me. I made friends who I keep close to this day. But once again, I wasn’t able to handle the academic stress. When the summer rolled around, I had another meeting with the school. They told me that I could not come back in the fall. They suggested that I look into community college. Months after attending the State of the Union with the first lady as a shining success story, I was a college dropout.”
Instead of fading off the White House’s radar, Mendez remained an object of the administration’s storytelling. He was invited to return to D.C. to be a representative of President Obama’s Reach Higher initiative.
“The same kid who had sat next to the First Lady as an example of how anybody could beat the odds and attend college was no longer even in college,” Mendez wrote. “I felt like a fraud.”
Hey kid, don’t worry, the Obama’s have pushed many frauds on the American people. You weren’t the first person to be used to sell a story, and you won’t be the last.
You can check out the White House’ official page on Mendez’ appearance by clicking here.
Comment: What do you think of the First Lady’s SOTU guest for higher achievement being a college dropout? Par for the course? Do you feel bad for him being used by the administration? Share your thoughts below.
