300 lucky collegians will hear Obama speak

Johan Fleury was watching a movie on Thursday evening when his principal called and asked him if he would like to meet American President Barack Obama.

Johan Fleury was watching a movie on Thursday evening when his principal called and asked him if he would like to meet American President Barack Obama.

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“I was so surprised that I didn’t know how to react,” said Fleury, a final year arts student of St Andrew’s College in Bandra. “When it finally sunk in, I realised how fortunate I am. I am very inspired by his speeches and now I will get to hear him speak in person.”

While everyone in the city is vying to meet American President Barack Obama, 300 students, including Fleury, will be fortunate enough to actually do so. They will be spending their Sunday morning with them in a town hall style interaction at St. Xavier’s College.

The students are from six prominent city colleges — HR College of Commerce, KC College, Jai Hind College, Wilson College, St. Andrew’s and the host college St. Xavier’s.

“The students are very excited and everyone wants to meet him, but I have asked each department head to select five students,” said Father Frazer Mascarhenas, principal, St. Xavier’s College in Dhobi Talao. A majority of the students will be from St. Xavier’s.

The student interaction will be at 10 am on November 7, but students will have to report at 8 am for security reasons.

Earlier this week, a team of officials from the American Centre and US authorities visited the 130-year-old heritage campus for a security update.

For 20-year-old Fleury, it is one of the highlights of his life. “This is an experience that I am going to tell everyone,” he said.