Michelle Obamas New Education Initiative: #BetterMakeRoom Campaign

The+Better+Make+Room+Instagram+page+Photo+credit%3A+Sara+Monterroso

The Better Make Room Instagram page Photo credit: Sara Monterroso

Sara Monterroso

Montgomery College ‘better make room’ because Michelle Obama is hoping to send even more kids to college.

The First Lady has announced her #BetterMakeRoom Campaign on Oct. 19 at the White House, in hopes of sending greater masses of high school graduates to pursue higher education.

By placing the hashtag before the name, Obama hopes that it can trend as popularly as say, Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris’ break up. Obama wants to make the pursuit of higher education prominent in popular culture.

“So much conversation is focused on celebrities and their stories […] the tweets they send; the points they score. So there’s no room for the story of that young woman whose parents don’t speak a word of English but who’s determined to be a first-generation college graduate,” said Obama in her launch speech.

The First lady recognizes the importance of social media and is aware that young people spend a lot of their time on social media.

Rather than creating a campaign that is only accessible through a website, Obama has made it accessible to her target audience by putting a hashtag behind her campaign slogan. This way it accessible on all social media.

According to NBC news, “some of the campaign’s partners include Vine, Mashable, UpNext, Seventeen, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, and A+E Networks, among many others.” Celebrities like Lebron James and Tony Goldwyn have become partners to the campaign as well.

In her speech, Obama said she wants to create a space where young people can encourage one another to complete their education beyond college and to share their stories and dreams openly.

On the Better Make Room website, kids are given the opportunity to share what they will do to pursue high education. Submissions varied from kids saying they will stop playing video games to what college they will be applying for.

The website also has the option of sharing a selfie or images on their photo booth. A photo featured on the website was a student with an acceptance letter and a drawing with the caption “I will go to college for art! I will become an art teacher for online students.”

UpNext, a partner to the campaign, has also provided an option where texts can be sent to you when you need that “extra push to get important things done, like applying and paying for school.”

You can find the Better Make Room campaign on virtually every social media:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BetterMakeRoom/

Twitter https://twitter.com/BetterMakeRoom

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKcN4bgbaXv_hx5ksZ0P8WQ

Instagram @bettermakeroom

Snapchat: bettermakeroom