Humans of New York photographer Brandon Stanton, Mott Hall Bridges Academy principal Nadia Lopez, and 13-year-old student Vidal Chastanet interview President Obama in the Oval Office. IIt’s been a wild ride for Vidal Chastanet, a middle school student from a struggling Brooklyn neighborhood, after his photo on the popular blog Humans of New York inspired a successful fund-raiser for his school. The cherry on top: meeting the president of the United States.


This Photo Inspired the Internet to Pony Up $600,000 to Send Kids to Harvard

In January, photographer Brandon Stanton posted a snapshot of Chastanet. In the caption, the teenager talks about the most influential person in his life: his school principal, Nadia Lopez.

“When we get in trouble, she doesn’t suspend us,” he said. “And one time she made every student stand up, one at a time, and she told each one of us that we matter.”

The photo quickly went viral on social media, prompting collaboration between Stanton and Lopez. They set out to raise money for a field trip to Harvard for Chastanet and his classmates at Mott Hall Bridges Academy. But the donations kept coming: The fund-raiser has earned more than $1 million since Jan.22, enough for a yearly Harvard trip and a summer program that would keep the kids learning and safe in their rough Brooklyn neighborhood.

In this video, Chastanet receives the news that he, along with Lopez and Stanton, has been invited to interview the president at the White House.

“President Barrack Obama wants to see us?” he asks incredulously.