WASHINGTON – Melania Trump will host two young women in her guest box for Tuesday’s State of the Union address who represent the issues she champions as first lady.
Seated with her in the House chamber will be Sierra Burns, 24, who was a beneficiary of Trump’s Foster Youth to Independence program, and Everest Nevraumont, a 10-year-old student from Austin, Texas, who attends Alpha School, which offers a hybrid learning curriculum that includes AI.
The two issues are a signature part of Trump’s platform. She is leading the Presidential AI Challenge and has been a longtime advocate for foster children, an issue that is particularly close to her heart.
“Fostering the Future has positioned the first lady as a leader as it relates to empowering children with education and technology,” a source close to her told The Post.
Both young women are accomplished in their own right.
Burns has become a public advocate about the foster system, having grown up in it. Everest is an accomplished speaker, podcaster, and history champion. She gave a Ted Talk at 10 years old to discuss her love of learning.
The first lady will be joined by other members of the Trump family on Tuesday to watch President Trump give his address to the nation, where he’ll lay out his agenda for the next year.
All his adult children and their partners – Don Jr. and fiancée Bettina Anderson, Eric and Lara Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and Tiffany and Michael Boulos – will all be at the speech, according to sources close to them.
Melania Trump has made foster children the centerpiece of her Be Best campaign, working on it even before returning to the White House.
In her self-titled documentary “Melania,” she showed a Zoom meeting with French first lady Brigitte Macron that took place as Trump was preparing for her second stint as first lady. In it, the two women talked about the importance of education for children.
Those discussions will continue in March when Trump hosts a two-day summit at the State Department and the White House. The event will be the formal launching of Fostering the Future Together, which will focus on empowering children, particularly in the areas of technology and AI. First spouses from all the world will be invited to join Trump in Washington DC on March 24th and 25th, a source close to the first lady told The Post.
Trump announced her global initiative at the UN General Assembly meeting in September.
“Remember, our next generation will use tech to revolutionize how we live, travel, design, and connect,” she said.
She has used her time as first lady to secure a $30 million budget allocation to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for scholarships for foster children.
Additionally, President Trump signed an executive order in November to create a “Fostering the Future” program that brings together federal entities, nonprofits, educational institutions and the private sector to develop education and career opportunities for foster youth.
And Melania’s team has established a nation-wide network of universities – including Vanderbilt, Villanova, University of Miami, University of Florida, and Ohio State – to partner with in her endeavors.
Students get fulltime scholarships to focus on education with a technological component.