(Photo Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

Obama is truly a role model

In 1993, at age 26, Danielle Metz was sentenced to three life sentences in prison plus an additional twenty years for her role in her husband’s drug-trafficking ring. In 2016, then-President Barack Obama granted Metz clemency, and she left prison a free woman. Metz earned her GED while in prison. After going free, she enrolled in college, where she recently made the Dean’s List at Southern University in New Orleans.

She told reporters she wished she could thank Obama for giving her a second chance. She said she would tell him, “You don’t know what you did for me. I’m finally coming into my own. I made the honor roll.”

Instead, the former President wrote Metz his own letter of gratitude after seeing the story in USA Today. He told Metz he’s proud of her and the work she’s done to turn her life around.

“I am so proud of you, and am confident that your example will have a positive impact for others who are looking for a second chance,” Obama wrote. “Tell your children I say hello, and know that I’m rooting for all of you.”

Metz, who is now 50 years old, earned a 3.75 GPA her second semester of college.