Michelle Obama Talks About Siya Xuza and Compares His Journey To That Of Her Husband, President Obama

His life changing journey began at the tender age of 12 when he used utensils in his mother’s kitchen to bake rocket fuel “like cookies” and was scolded for causing fires. Four years later, his “safer and cheaper” solid rocket fuel won him the top prize in its category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in the US. Siyabulela Xuza is said to be one of the best scientist South Africa has ever had.  world’s top scientists. Xuza is now, almost literally, on top of the world.

He has a planet named after him and he is only 25 years of age.. Isn’t this amazing? Well, we are not the only ones who think that Siya Xuza is amazing. Michelle Obama once spoke about Xuza in one of her talks where she compares his journey to that of her husband, President Obama.

The first lady said in her speech “You can choose to answer to the peer pressure and go on with whatever everyone else is doing or you can answer to your own hopes and dreams and start working to become whatever you want to be in this life. That’s what Siya Xuza did, he grew up in the township of Umthatha and his family was certainly wasn’t wealthy but he studied hard in school as a teenager. He invented his own rocket fuel and won all kinds of awards and I got to meet Siya in South Africa 2 years ago and I got to see him again today and he just graduated from Harvard University in the United States.”

“You see Siya and President Obama, and so many others in the South Africa and the United States, They are living proof of what the legendary South African President Mandela said. He said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.”

The Picture Above: In 2014, Siya  attended the May launch of the space shuttle Endeavour as a guest of Nasa and, in June, met US first lady Michelle Obama.