Michelle Merced

The newest school in California's public university system is UC Merced, with less students that some high schools (somewhere in the vicinity of 2000) and set in the agricultural heartland of our state, which gets a lot less press and attention than the glittering cities of the coast. The students of Merced are culturally diverse and, we now, know, innovative and determined, as they launched their wildly successful "Dear Michelle" campaign to get our nation's new First Lady to deliver her first commencement address to their school.

The students sent 900 valentines to Michelle on Valentine's Day, and she responded by sending this nascent school and small farming town into the stratosphere on Saturday with her landmark address:

"Why did I chose the University of California Merced to deliver my first commencement speech as first lady? Well, let me tell you something, the answer is simple. You inspired me. You touched me," Obama said, referring to the unusual campaign of valentines, letters and videos the students produced in inviting her to speak. "There are few things that are more rewarding than to watch young people recognize they have the power to make their dreams come true. And you did just that."

The school is now on the map, no longer a footnote to the UC system, sure to attract more terrific students. These 350 members of the inaugural class received a message of service from Ms. Obama:

"As the students who helped build this school, I ask you, make your legacy a lasting one," Mrs. Obama told the graduates as an enthusiastic crowd of students, family members, dignitaries, university personnel, community members and other well-wishers looked on.

"Dream big, think broadly about your life and please make giving back to your community a part of that vision," she said. "Take the same hope and optimism, the hard work and tenacity that brought you to this point, and carry that with you for the rest of your life in whatever you choose to do."

In keeping with the best of last year's Obama Presidential campaign, it's a story to bring a tear to the eye, and remind us that we're living in a very special age, one that I can only pray lasts a full eight years.