Obama headlining Kalamazoo high school graduation
LANSING, Mich.—Kalamazoo Central High School valedictorian Cindy Lee is far less jittery about speaking to hundreds of her fellow graduates Monday than she is about sharing a stage with one man: President Barack Obama.
Obama will be giving a graduation speech of his own to the 1,700-student southwest Michigan school, which snagged the honor for winning the national Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge.
"The whole school is excited about it. The whole community is excited. It's on the news every single day," Lee, 18, said last week. "And I'm also kind of nervous about giving a speech at the same time as the president."
While Lee said Obama's presence won't mean changes for her speech, it does mean some unusual preparations for a high school graduation, including background checks on graduating seniors who might get to meet the president and restrictions on the number of invitees.
Each of 300 graduates received eight tickets to the ceremony at Western Michigan University's 5,000-seat University Arena. Students at the district's
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