Robert Turchick, Amanda Craig, Lauren Perrotti, Matt Jewitt, and John Zang also contributed to this post.
How many mornings do you wake up at a top notch university, and get to see and hear the President of the United States?
Yesterday morning, members of the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Council witnessed President Obama’s remarks in Rec Hall. President Obama came to University Park to tour labs and speak on innovative sciences and the economy. We’d like to thank the College of the Liberal Arts for this tremendous experience; one that won’t soon be forgotten.
The theme for President Obama’s address was “winning the future.” He challenged students to work hard and pursue big dreams, adding that “the future will be won” in places like State College. The President spoke about the long term goals of the nation, and the projects and initiatives that will lead to America’s success in the 21st century.
President Obama highlighted the ground breaking work being done at Penn State regarding energy efficiency. This work is extremely important in a country where 40% of all energy is consumed by buildings in the form of daily utilities. The President remarked that “while this innovation may not be sexy,” it is essential to the preservation of the well being of the planet and to curb the effects of climate change. It will also save businesses money, allowing them to grow and create new jobs.
Strongly believing that the younger generations will the “lead the American idea,” President Obama finished his speech with a challenge to young people: “out innovate, out educate, and out build” the rest of the world. If we do this, the President has no doubt that “America will win the 21st century, just like we won the last century.”
How do you think the College of the Liberal Arts is out innovating and out educating other institutions?
You can find more photos of the event on LAUSatPSU’s Flickr page. Also, make sure to check out the video of LAUC’s live coverage of President Obama’s speech: