Michelle Obama defends Sotomayor at high school graduation

Speaking at a graduation ceremony for Washington Mathematics Science Technology Public Charter High School, Mrs. Obama told the young students not to be held down by doubts. She described her husband as "a biracial kid with a funny name from Hawaii" who overcame doubts to succeed in his life and his career.

"See, at some point in all of these lives -- Judge Sotomayor, Administrator Bolden, Dr. Leffall, Mr. Hancock, President Obama, and even me -- we all felt a little like you might feel right now. We all had doubts. We all have doubts. We all heard nagging voices and sometimes we still do, asking us, will we be able to compete in this new arena? Will I fit in? Am I really ready?"

"But in the end," Mrs. Obama said, "we were all more than ready. Judge Sotomayor is more than ready. Administrator Bolden is more than ready. Dr. Leffall, more than ready. Mr. Hancock, more than ready. I was more than ready. And Barack Obama certainly is more than ready. And graduates, I am here to tell you that you are more than ready."

Like Sotomayor, Mrs. Obama graduated from Princeton University. And she also graduated from Harvard Law School, as her husband did.

Ninety-nine percent of the charter school's graduates have been accepted to colleges, including Georgetown, Howard, Syracuse, Morehouse and the University of Virginia, school officials told the media.