Fannie Lou Freedom High School Principal Jeffrey Palladino and a Fannie Lou graduate, 22-year-old Elvis Santana, got the opportunity of a lifetime as they were invited by first lady Michelle Obama to speak at a "Reach Higher Initiative" event in Washington, D.C.

 

Santana, now a college graduate, spoke to about 170 leaders in education about overcoming his economically challenged background to become an intern at HBO and study abroad in Germany.

 

The opportunities wouldn't have been possible without Fannie Lou's partnership with a New York City nonprofit organization called Children's Aid.

"Children's Aid, with its collaboration with a community school and nonprofit, was able to give those opportunities to not only students like myself, but multiple students who were able to travel across the world to work at places like HBO and NYU."