After receiving a spontaneous phone call from the Girl Scout public relations specialist, Omeish was personally invited to the White House to have dinner with numerous women who have made a positive impact on humanity, as well as, thirty other girls who were specifically chosen to attend this event. Some of the guests included Desiree Rogers, the White House Social Secretary; Madeleine Albright, the Secretary of State during Clinton’s presidency; actress Kerry Washington; Dorothy Heights, Civil Rights icon- who passed away a few weeks after the event on April 20th at the age of 98; Sarah Reinertsen, the first person with a prosthetic leg to finish the Ironman Hawaii Triathlon; Afghan singer Mozhdah Jamalzadah ; and American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee.
Many of the new friends Omeish met were eager to meet President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama; however, Omeish’s mind was thinking, “hope, more than anything else.”
“I was really thinking about my future plans, how I was going to take the most advantage of my chance, and how I will meet them again- this isn’t goodbye.” The fourteen-year old aspiring President said about meeting the Obamas.
After working passionately on the Obama campaign, seeing the President himself sit two seats in front of her, Omeish felt all the memories of her hard work come back. For her the event was not just an honor, it was a pathway in the making. As she stood in the halls of the historical home, she felt at place and could not help feeling that one day; she would be working in this very building. Omeish made it one of her main goals to change the low statistics of Muslim representation in politics into a higher statistic. Nonetheless, she hopes to make every person’s voice heard in society, all minorities included.
After admiring the spectacular décor of the White House, with the presidential seal on every napkin and fresh, vibrant flowers in every single room, enjoying the delectable international foods like the Spanish Empanadas and scrumptious desserts such as the Swiss Luxemburgerli, Abrar reflected on how hard it took African Americans to get to this far in society. This gave her hope for what was yet to come for her as a Muslim; after all, the people who invited her into the White House’s exclusive event were not Muslim. As encouragement, her father, Dr. Esam Omeish, joked with her, saying, “This experience should have helped you have an idea of how to plan out your furniture when you move in.”
Mrs. Obama gave a speech to ensure the girls knew why they were chosen to commemorate International Women’s History Month at the White House. “We honor women who refused to listen to those who would say that you couldn’t or shouldn’t pursue your dreams.” Obama stated. As the First Lady was spreading her heartening words to the women audience, Omeish recalls the most cherished memory of her night, President Obama winking at her while she listened to his wife. “Being the only Muslim wearing hijab in the room, it made me feel great.” She reminisced.
President Obama left the girls with some words of encouragement and hope as well, “These young ladies are here today because they’re the ones who are going to help bend that curve towards justice and equality.” With these words of optimism, Abrar Omeish is assuming her father’s role of wanting to help humanity by becoming involved in the politics behind running society.
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