First Lady Michelle Obama and Washington D.C. rapper Wale teamed up to advise teens on making a successful transition from high school to college. The White House hosted 130 college-bound students, and Obama aimed to make education "cool," the Associated Press reported. 

The 2015 Beating the Odds Summit on Thursday featured a tour of the White House, along with a panel of discussions moderated by E! News co-anchor Terrence Jenkins. Topics included navigating financial aid, approaching the college social scene and adapting to new environments, USA Today reported. The summit was organized as a part of Obama's Reach Higher Initiative, aimed to encourage high school students to seek higher education.

"Education should be cool again," Obama told the students gathered at the White House, according to USA Today. "This should be the cool thing to do in life."

Wale, a famous local rapper and panelist at the summit, attended Virginia State, Bowie State and Robert Morris College. He dropped out before he obtained his degree, but he told students that the college experience is about more than just a degree.

"It allowed me to have more time to figure out what I wanted to do," Wale explained.

Other panelists also spoke about their college experiences and gave students advice.

"Whatever you want to do in life, get an education," Arne Duncan, Education Secretary, told students. "If you catch an education, that's an open door for you wherever you go."

The Reach Higher Initiative's Twitter account documented the day's panel discussions and retweeted the First Lady's motivational quotes with the hashtag #ReachHigher.

"If it is too easy," Obama said, "you are probably not working hard enough."

See some of Obama's tweets from the summit below.

@ 2024 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.