From start to finish the trip was incredible. We had a smooth train ride down and arrived at the gates early in the morning only to walk right onto the amazingly assembled Easter Egg Roll right on the White House front lawn! From the word go I knew that it was going to be a blast. Right as the event opened up to the public we darted to the nearest athlete and began interviewing. As the day got even more exciting and we got to interview more people like chefs and bands, we heard that the President was coming! We were so excited and were trying to think of questions to ask him. Once we had our questions, we slid over to the tennis courts to watch the President play a game of tennis with some kids and a professional soccer player. As we watched him finish, he made his way over towards us and we were able to ask him some questions. That minute alone made the whole event 10 times better!
We also got to speak with the former Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He was great. He helped us out by partaking in the #GimmeFive challenge with us. We also got the opportunity to interview him on the White House front lawn! He gave us some remarkable responses. After him, we ran to another station and interviewed a chef from the TV show “Chopped” and the U.S. Olympic team for soccer and fencing.
After that we ran over to the stage and watched a flash mob start up and, it just happened to be led by Michelle Obama herself. Being out there was such an incredible experience. I had one of the most incredible days of my life and this wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Fuel Up to Play 60. One thing that I took away from the event was all of the knowledge about being healthy and fit. I also got to teach other people about Fuel Up to Play 60. This was a little bit about my trip to the White House and I can’t wait to share more about what I love doing at other events.
Jake
New Jersey State Ambassador
7th Grade
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After watching the highlights video, it’s obvious that attending the White House Easter Egg Roll was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that blessed me with some amazing memories that will last for years to come. Together, Jake and I attended the event as student reporters to interview the attendees on the celebration of Let’s Move’s 5th Anniversary. To encourage the theme of Gimme Five throughout the day, athletes and celebrity chefs took part in the event with physical activity and nutrition stations that involved celebrating Easter. We interviewed Robert Griffin III, Steve Smith Sr., Torrey Smith, John Wall, Calais Campbell, Angela Hucles, Briana Scurry, Sunny Anderson, Mark Hertling and President Obama during the day on health and wellness and got insightful responses from them all!
Some of the favorite healthy foods of the day included broccoli, bananas, avocado, spinach, turkey, mangos, sea bass, asparagus, salmon, brown rice, pineapple, coconut, and yogurt which gives you a good variety of some new dishes that you might be interested in trying. Chef Sunny Anderson told us that one of her favorite snacks is almond butter and sliced bananas spread on a wheat tortilla, similar to the sunny start flatbread breakfast lab recipe that Fuel Up to Play 60 has worked on. She let us know that preparing healthy foods is a necessity because you must fuel your body like gas in a vehicle, and it’s important to be adventurous with what you choose on your plate. Athletes shared that their favorite ways to stay active were swimming, running, jumping rope, weight lifting, and playing basketball and football. They encourage kids to begin developing healthy habits at a young age because it helps them become well rounded, interact with family and friends, carry on lessons throughout life, and perform better in school.
We even got the chance to speak to President Obama himself and asked why advocating for youth health is important to him and what one message he wanted kids to take away from the event was. He answered by saying, “Being active early in life, that’s going to last a lifetime and nothing’s more important than your health. Getting in good habits early is going to make all the difference. Plus it’s fun!” We were told throughout the day that our bodies have to be cherished and taken care of, and that starts with making simple healthy additions to your life. A common question we asked was what leadership means to you and we learned that you must be positive, influential, have the ability to relate to others, engage them, and present a positive example as you practice what you preach. Overall, this is the biggest lesson we should all take away as student ambassadors for Fuel Up to Play 60 in order to apply our knowledge of healthy living in our schools and communities.
As Ambassadors, we challenge you to give us five ways that you stay healthy and post your responses to social media if you are 13 or older. Be sure to tag Let’s Move, Michelle Obama, and Fuel Up to Play 60 to join in on the celebration of Let’s Move’s 5th Anniversary!
Anisha
National Ambassador
8th Grade
Amazing!!!
Excellent job!
I wish I could do that. It seems so awesome!!
sounds cool!
Great job! I hope if we all work together we can change the way people are!!!!
i want too team up with some of you guys
cool
so cool
I hope you had fun encouraging people to eat healthy and stay active
Wow! An incredible experience
So proud of the youth today!
If this is the future leaders of this country, we are in good shape!
that is amazing. nice job!
wow so cool
Awesome!!