CSHEL: “Don’t Be Bored. Do Something”

"Don't Be Bored. Do Something"

MAKE
February 27, 2012 3:31 PM
by Dale Dougherty

"Don't Be Bored. Do Something"

Joey Hudy at World Maker Faire. Photo by Aaron Fedor/Cognizant Technology Solutions

Joey Hudy's visit to the White House left a lasting impression on the President. Not only did Joey demonstrate his Extreme Marshmallow Cannon, but he handed out his business card with his own inspiring quote. Here are President Obama's remarks today from a White House event:

So let me wrap up by saying a few weeks ago I held, right here in this room and in the adjoining room, one of my favorite events and that is the White House Science Fair. We invited students from a lot of your states and they showcased projects that covered the full range of scientific discovery.

We had a group of kids from Texas, young Latino women, who came from the poorest section of Texas and yet were winning rocket competitions. And they were so good because they could only afford one rocket, so they couldn't test them and they had to get it just right. (Laughter.) And their parents ran bake sales just so they could travel to these events.

You had a young woman who was from Long Island, had been studying mussels and wanted to be an oceanographer, and won the Intel Science Award while she was homeless. Her family had lost their home and she was living out of a car and out of her family's — on her family's couch, and yet still was able to stay focused and achieve what was just remarkable.

There was a kid — the kid who actually got the most attention was a young man named Joey Hudy of Arizona. That's because Joey let me fire off a extreme marshmallow canon. (Laughter.) We did it right here in this room. We shot it from here. We pumped it up — it almost hit that light. (Laughter.) I thought it was a lot of fun. (Laughter.) And while the canon was impressive, Joey left a bigger impression because he had already printed out his own business cards — he was 14-years-old. And he was handing them out to everybody, including me. (Laughter.) He's on our short list for a Cabinet post. (Laughter.)

Under his name on each card was a simple motto: "Don't be bored, do something." Don't be bored, do something. Don't be bored, make something.

All across this country there are kids like Joey who are dreaming big, and are doing things and making things. And we want them to reach those heights. They're willing to work hard. They are willing to dig deep to achieve. And we've got a responsibility to give them a fair shot. If we do, then I'm absolutely convinced that our future is going to be as bright as all of us want.

So this is going to be something that I want to collaborate with all of you on. If you've got ideas about how we can make our education system work better, I want to hear them today, and Arne Duncan is going to want to hear them for the rest of the time that he's Education Secretary and the rest of the time I'm President.

So, join me in speaking up about making and what bringing more of it to education might do. Congratulations again to Joey.

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Joey Hudy Goes to Washington