Pocomoke High Looks To Bring First Lady To School

BERLIN – Pocomoke High School took Twitter by storm this month in an effort to attract the attention of Michelle Obama.

Since Friday, Dec. 18, #WeWantFLOTUS has filled the Twitter feeds of Pocomoke’s students and staff. The school community is using the social media site and hashtag in hopes of bringing FLOTUS — the First Lady of the United States — to Pocomoke. While it might sound farfetched, a social media campaign launched by the school in 2015 resulted in a visit from Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr.

“Can you aim too high?” Principal Annette Wallace said when asked if bringing the First Lady to the Eastern Shore was an attainable goal. “We always say shoot for the moon. We’ll see how it works out. Whether we get her or not it was an exercise in using social media for something positive.”

The school kicked off its social media campaign at a pep rally Dec. 18. Students tweeted photos and messages sharing reasons why they thought their school deserved a visit. Wallace said a point in the high school’s favor was its relatively close proximity to Washington D.C.

“She visits schools all the time and we’re not too far away,” Wallace said. “We’re hopeful.”

She said she was pleased with the amount of media interest the effort had generated — both locally and closer to D.C. — and that she was optimistic the school would hear from the White House. Pocomoke students and staff will continue to promote the #WeWantFLOTUS campaign in the coming weeks. They launched a video aimed at bringing attention to the cause Tuesday and are in the process of planning more organized Twitter events.

Wallace said the idea to pursue a visit from Michelle Obama came after a conversation about Pocomoke’s Project 100, which aims to have every graduating senior commit to continued education after high school. She said that Obama’s interest in promoting education made her the ideal person to bring to Pocomoke.

“Regardless of political standpoints, I don’t think people can argue that her stance on education isn’t beneficial to everyone,” Wallace said.

She stressed that whether the campaign proved successful it had served to unite the student body and illustrate a productive use of social media.

“For us it’s all about making a connection between what the kids are doing and something else positive,” Wallace said.