Ahmed ‘Clock Boy’ Mohamed Meets President Obama At The White House
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The 14-year-old Muslim boy who was falsely arrested in Texas for bringing a homemade clock to school received a once-in-a-lifetime invitation after the controversy erupted online. And now that invitation has been fulfilled.
President Barack Obama welcomed teenager Ahmed Mohamed to the White House on Monday as part of an astronomy night event. The young creator personally met with the President.
Ahmed Mohamed got to meet @POTUS and chill with astronauts at the White House https://t.co/LD0lELFtlk pic.twitter.com/re0LLn9Lpw
— Sylvan Lane (@SylvanLane) October 20, 2015Advertisement
In September, Mohamed made national headlines when he was arrested at his Texas high school because a paranoid teacher thought Mohamed created a homemade bomb.
In actuality, Mohamed created a clock for a school project and was likely the victim of racial profiling amidst the anti-Muslim sentiment fomenting across the country (see Donald Trump campaign rallies).
The arrest was made even more jarring by an image of a confused Mohamed in handcuffs wearing a NASA t-shirt.
The incident created a viral movement, “#IStandWithAhmed,” and prompted the leader of the free world to give a special shout out to the young scientist.
Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great.
— President Obama (@POTUS44) September 16, 2015
Monday’s encounter was even more special for the budding engineer after he had heard Obama would likely not have time to meet with him personally, but judging from these pictures, Obama’s unexpected meeting was likely a major highlight in the young life of Mohamed.
Since the controversy, Mohamed has received dozens of offers from companies like Facebook, AutoDesk, and has received invitations to tour MIT and Harvard, both of which said Mohamed is the ideal candidate for their schools.
It seems like the sky is the limit now for this adventurous engineer.