Domonique Garland, a senior majoring in elementary education, was making headlines after she introduced President Barack Obama during his appearance at UNC-Chapel Hill on
Tuesday.
Garland made a short speech to introduce the president before he spoke in Carmichael Arena about keeping student loans more affordable.
In an interview with her hometown television station WGHP, Garland said she met Obama just moments before she went onstage.
“At first you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s the president,’ but then he was so jovial and down-to-earth that I was like, ‘OK, Hello,’ like an old family member. So it was very comforting,” Garland said.
Garland explained that she was chosen for the honor by the White House from among three student names submitted by Carolina’s Admissions Office.
Garland also did a live interview with CNN’s Brooke Baldwin, who also happens to be a Carolina alumna. In it, Garland talked about how impending student loan interest rate increases could affect her when she’s in graduate school and her sister, who is also now a Carolina student.
The CNN interview with Garland is available here.
The WGHP story and video interview of Garland are available here.
Garland’s speech is available here