A handful of Eureka Springs Middle School students can say they’ve been in the same room as a living president.

On Monday, Dec. 1, the students attended an event featuring President Barack Obama at Crystal Bridges. The students reported feeling excited during the event, and one student got up close and personal with the former president.

“I was two feet away from Obama,” said Francisco Herrera-Rincon. “I shook his hand three times.”

Caleb Jones said he enjoyed hearing about what it was like to be president of the United States, and Ellie Maese agreed.

“He talked about what it was like to be the president, and he gave a lot of advice to us,” Maese said.

Obama also answered questions from the audience.

“He told us what it was like to be in politics,” said Carlene Palmer. “He talked about the future of America.”

Several students reported feeling surprised that Obama didn’t always plan to go into politics.

“I felt really emotional about Obama talking about his past life,” Herrera-Rincon said. “He didn’t know he was going to be president.”

Chase Abendroth agreed.

“He gave us a lot of advice on how to succeed,” Abendroth said. “He told us he was way behind a lot of us when he was our age, but he really focused up and went for what he wanted.”

For Christian Thao, one statement in particular stood out.

“He said, ‘Don’t know what you want to be, but know what you want to do,’ ” Thao said.

Arabella Perez said she was honored to be chosen to attend the event.

“Not a lot of people got to go,” Perez said. “It was a special field trip.”

Crystal Bridges invited the school to the event as part of its ongoing arts partnership. Superintendent Bryan Pruitt said he was excited for students to have all the opportunities the partnership has provided.

“It’s a rare opportunity to actually meet the president. The kids enjoyed it, and they behaved very well,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt described Obama’s talk, saying he gave advice on how young people can develop their character through trust and hard work.

“He told them to put their cell phones down and enjoy life. Communicate with each other. Do things together. Go read a book,” Pruitt said. “It was just a good day.”

Eighth grade teacher Gideon Keas said he was proud to choose students to represent Eureka Springs at the event.

“It’s a moment in history,” Keas said. “In eighth grade, we learn about 19th century American history, and everything seems so remote to the kids. I was happy that my students got to see a historical person from their own lifetime.”

Keas said he appreciated Obama’s nonpartisan message.

“He talked about leadership, responsibility and investing in the future,” Keas said.

Student Carlene Palmer agreed.

“I supposed it got me wondering about what my future is,” Palmer said. “Maybe I’m going to be president, too.”