A top-ranking U.S. education official visited UF on Thursday afternoon, asking students to reach out to middle and high school students who might think college is a possibility for them.
Sara Martinez Tucker, under secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, spoke to about 20 UF students in the Reitz Union.
Martinez Tucker said she is responsible for helping implement education Secretary Margaret Spellings' Action Plan for Higher Education, which calls for expanding the accessibility, affordability and accountability of higher education in the U.S.
As part of this duty, she is traveling to college campuses across the country to hear students' opinions on their higher-education institutions.
A camera crew accompanied her to UF to prepare a video aimed at changing the views of middle school and high school students who don't think they're "college material."
Martinez Tucker said she chose UF as a tour stop after UF Student Government representatives visited her in Washington, D.C., during June and started a "raucous debate" on education.
"I'm here because your student representatives gave me a lot of energy," she said. "They took me on."
She asked UF students to describe why they chose to attend college, how they decided on a university, what types of family and school support helped them in the process and how they paid for postsecondary education.
"You're going to be my stars," Martinez Tucker said. "Tell me the struggles an existing college student faces. I need you to inspire hundreds, maybe thousands of kids around the states."
Martinez Tucker added that one of her goals is revising the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Martinez Tucker said she was hoping to start the process in 8th grade with a few basic questions, so students could learn the "possible" amount of federal aid available to them.
Questions in 10th grade would be more extensive and give students a "probable" amount of aid, and then more questions during their senior year would provide a "predictable" amount, she said.
Students were then asked to close the meeting by looking straight into the video camera and offering advice to potential college students.
"To the youth in America, you are so lucky to be going to school in this great country," said UF student Jordan Loh. "You have not only the ability, but the duty to reach as high as you can."
