MHS sophomore meets president in Columbia

Manning High School sophomore Quadri Bell had no idea that a simple letter he wrote in January 2014 would lead to his meeting President Barack Obama a little more than a year later. “I started out with an email sent to the White House Communications Department,” Bell said. “I said how much I supported the president, his the Affordable Care Act, that 11 million jobs had been created and that the unemployment rate had dropped significantly.” Bell also asked if there were any way he could ever meet the president, one of his personal heroes. He clicked send and said he thought nothing more of it until late February of this year. “White House Senior Analyst and Projects Manager Max Sgro called my cell phone,” said Bell excitedly. “He told me how I was a big supporter of the president in the area and they were reaching out to supporters to come to Columbia for his visit to South Carolina. They asked me if I wanted to see the president speak.” “Of course, I said I did,” Bell said. The 15-year-old student was allowed one guest to accompany him. He picked his mother, Stacy. “My mom loves the president, and I knew she’d love the opportunity to meet him,” Bell said. “I knew immediately I wanted to take my mom.” The pair made the trip to Columbia on March 6. “We had to be there at 10:15 a.m. to go through the line and get tickets,” Bell said. “After that, we went into another line. We got in about 11:25 a.m. and sat in the regular section of seats.” Bell and his mother overheard a conversation about wristbands nearby. “They were talking about our green wristbands,” Bell said. “And they told us those wristbands gave us reserved seating ‘over there.’” The pair were ushered to a section of seats where individual names were posted on the back of each one. “It had the White House emblem and everything,” Bell said. Sitting in the same section were former state Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, U.S. House Minority Whip James Clyburn, lieutenant governor candidate Bakari Sellers and other state officials. “It was really interesting and fun to experience a social setting with some of the dignitaries at both the U.S. and state levels of government,” Bell said. Not long after he and his mother were seated, Bell said he heard the president’s voice. “I could hear him talking, and we were led through this curtain to where we could get our picture made with him,” Bell said. “He had an assistant who had been telling him our names, so he greeted us individually with our names. That was really special.” Bell said he hasn’t received the picture quite yet. “They said it would take a few weeks, and believe me, I’m anxiously awaiting that picture,” Bell said. The program included remarks from Clyburn and the president, who spoke for about 10 to 15 minutes, Bell said. “Then, he had an Open Town Hall for about an hour,” Bell said. “And then he came down and shook everyone’s hands. And he remembered our names then.” Stacy Bell said her son’s fascination with Obama was nothing new to her or husband Thomas. Neither was it to the couple’s other children, Stacilyn, Thomas, Imani or Jabril. “He’s always been very interested in politics,” Stacy Bell said. “It’s always been something that has interested him.” “The normal kid in junior high or high school is going home and seeing what’s on BET or MTV or YouTube, and when I get home, I turn on CSPAN, CNN, Fox News or MSNBC,” Bell said. “I want to have that insight on world news and the politics of today. There are so many issues that involve all Americans and I want to know about them.” Bell’s interest in politics and action extend to his extracurricular activities, which include the Future Business Leaders of America, FFA and the Beta Club. He is the Manning High School student body treasurer and a council member with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The vice-president of the local FBLA, he was named over the weekend as president for the state chapter. Outside of school, he is a member of the Manning Youth Council and Clarendon County Youth Leadership. “I just like being involved,” Bell said. “It never gets boring.” UPDATE: Quadri Bell's picture with President Obama