Glamour is honoring First Lady Michelle Obama with a Special Recognition award for her commitment to mentoring young women. Mrs. Obama graces this issue’s cover which is the first time in Glamour’s 70-year history to feature a First Lady.

CBS Evening News anchor, Katie Couric interviewed First Lady Michelle Obama for Glamour’s brand new column.

Read part of the interview after the jump!

Mentoring matters, especially for young women: “I think that mentoring is such a critical part of the role I can play in this position. I see how little bits of exposure and big bits of exposure really change my girls significantly, and I want that for more girls around the country and the world.”

The real role models aren’t movie stars–they’re the people you know: “They were the people in my life. My mom, for sure. My dad. The teachers. For me, role-modeling was immediate, it was touchable…Children connect with who is in their lives, present and accounted for…That’s why we’re trying to encourage moms, teachers, fathers, to be that presence in their children’s lives, in their communities, because it really makes a difference.”

Don’t wait to be “discovered” by a mentor: “I was blessed throughout my entire career. I had people rooting for me. It started with my parents, but it extended to almost every teacher that I had. When I was a young lawyer, there were other women and men in the firm who took me under their wing. Look for those mentors, because sometimes mentors don’t find you–sometimes you seek them out. Oftentimes, they’re flattered and glad to lend a hand.”

With men, don’t be swayed by “cute”: “Cute’s good. But cute only lasts for so long, and then it’s, Who are you as a person? Don’t look at the bankbook or the title. Look at the heart. Look at the soul…When you’re dating a man, you should always feel good…You shouldn’t be in a relationship with somebody who doesn’t make you completely happy and make you feel whole.”

The First Lady’s entire interview appears in their December issue which will be on newsstands next week.

Source

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 2:47 pm and is filed under Lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.