BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama is to speak at Virginia Tech’s spring commencement.
Obama will address more than 5,000 graduates and their relatives and friends Friday at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg.
White House officials have said Obama chose Virginia Tech because of the university community’s resilience in the face of several incidents of campus violence, including a massacre in 2007 that left 33 people dead.
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner also will speak at the ceremony.
Obama’s appearance in Blacksburg comes less than a week after she and President Barack Obama appeared at a rally in Richmond to kick of his re-election campaign. Virginia is considered a battleground state in the presidential election.
Michelle Obama also plans to speak at North Carolina A&T on Saturday and at Oregon State on June 17.
