While everyone was counting down to that Star Wars trailer, the White House hosted Astronomy Night with a lot of honored guests.
One in particular received his personal invite from President Barack Obama a little while back, Texas teenager Ahmed Mohamed, or “clock boy” as the Internet has affectionately dubbed him, when he was arrested for bringing his science experiment, a clock, to school.
The following tweet pretty much captures it all:
IT WAS AMAZING, AND A HONOR MEETING #PRESIDENT #OBAMA!!! #YOY #THEWHITEHOUSE pic.twitter.com/OIuXjFVLZe
— Ahmed Mohamed (@IStandWithAhmed) October 20, 2015
Before attending the event, Mohamed told AP that the lesson he learned from the debacle was, “Don’t judge a person by the way they look. Always judge them by their heart.”
If you remember, Mohamed pretty much stole the nation’s heart with his story, so much so he received support and invites from notable figures like Obama and Mark Zuckerberg — as well as all this cool swag from Microsoft.
Additionally, Obama took a few moments to talk about major initiatives, including continuing to up the number of young people, especially girls, entering STEM fields, as well as his excitement for getting people on Mars by the 2030s. You can see the full breakdown of what the White House will be focusing on here.
“That means some of the young people who are here tonight might be working on that project,” he told the audience in the White House video. “Some of you might be on your way to Mars.”
