Introducing our Better Make Room Student Advisory Board Member — Fatima Wahidi!
By: Fatima Wahidi, Senior at Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience Magnet High School
I spread my arms out in front of the officer standing with a handheld detector as I walked through the security check-in at the White House. The officer looked at me confused and asked, “Did you go off in the metal detector?” I shook my head no. The officer smiled, shook his head and chuckled, “Then I don’t need to scan you.” I took a mental step back before I collected my items and went to catch up with the other board members. After being so used to the way I was always treated at the airport, I was pleasantly surprised that I was not being double or triple checked at the White House of all places. Before I knew it, I entered the White House alongside my new family members, all of whom are equally as awestruck as I am. To my left I see a cluster of celebrities. “Stay calm, it’s not a big deal,” I chide myself as I try to process what is going on.
Sitting as VIP for the School Counselor of the Year Program was like a dream. It was so casual to laugh along with Usher as he joked about how there was only one male school counselor being recognized. Cheering as former Secretary of Education, John King announced that the high school graduation rate is the highest that it has ever been. Tears streaming down everyone’s faces as Michelle Obama told us that all students belong in this country and that she would continue to fight for us.
The beautiful words that Mrs. Obama said in her speech evoked half of the tears. The other tears were because this was her final address as First Lady of the administration.
While sitting in the Secretary of War room, with Washington peering down on me, I begin to truly and fully appreciate the moment that I was living in. My first semester of senior year was the hardest semester for me, and probably for a lot of seniors across the United States. My heart was still humming with joy from when I had the honor of meeting First Lady Michelle Obama. I doubted myself far more than I should. If you would have asked me five months before, I would have never imagined that I would be sitting in the White House.
Hearing Carla Hall and Lana Parrilla share their personal journey with higher education with such vulnerability and compassion gave me hope for the millions of high school students who I know have and are experiencing hardship, and might not feel that education after high school is for them.
“All students deserve a chance to thrive at an institution of higher learning.”
Higher education is something that students who are low-income, immigrants, and people of color, often do not get equal opportunity to pursue, which is something that needs to change. I will continue to fight for higher education until the high school graduation rate reaches 100 percent! All students deserve a chance to thrive at an institution of higher learning. I am anxiously awaiting most of my college decisions myself, however I know that wherever I choose to attend in the fall, I will work my hardest to continue to advocate for education equality. While doing so, I hope to major in Sociology, which will help to further supplement my thoughts involving social justice. I hope to also pursue a pre-medical education and use the lens of Sociology to interact with other professionals and better serve patients of all backgrounds.
Fatima Wahidi is a senior at Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience Magnet High School in St. Louis, Missouri, where she will soon be part of its inaugural graduating class. She serves as the President of her school’s chapter of National Honors Society and is a Senior Representative and Treasurer for the Student Council. Her biggest passions in life are social justice and neuroscience. Fatima is a LEDA Scholar and a dedicated volunteer in her St. Louis community. She hopes to one day publish a novel.
