Michelle Obama
Who Are You Going to Be?

Michelle Obama is the First Lady of the United States and the mother of Malia and Sasha Obama. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, she has worked in law, education, and nonprofit organizations. During her tenure as an associate dean of student services at the University of Chicago and a Vice President of University of Chicago Medical Center, she focused on increasing community service and volunteerism efforts. As first lady, Mrs. Obama has launched programs to support military families and servicemen and women, and to encourage healthy eating and exercise among children. She gave this speech at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s 2012 commencement.

Starting a Conversation: Respond to “Who Are You Going to Be?”
In the text boxes below, reflect on Obama’s strategies as a writer, speaker, and problem solver by responding to the following questions:

  1. Question

    What specific aspects of this text mark it as a speech, rather than an essay or some other kind of document? How do its content and style reflect the specific occasion on which the speech was delivered?

  2. Question

    What appeals does Obama make in this speech? What techniques does she use to make them?

  3. Question

    Obama recounts the story of the Greensboro Four and their lunch counter protest. Later she quotes from one of the four. How does this anecdote function in her speech?

  4. Question

    What would you say is the main argument of the speech? Is it explicit or implicit?

  5. Question

    How does Obama address the audience to whom she delivered the speech? How does she expand her audience beyond just the graduates in front of her?
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