(Photo courtesy DeAndre Coulter, at center, with Mayor Ed Murray at left, Chief Kathleen O’Toole at right)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“I can’t describe how excited I am!”

That’s what DeAndre Coulter, a University of Washington student who graduated from West Seattle High School in 2012, said today when we talked with him about his impending trip to The White House, where he’ll be during President Obama‘s final State of the Union address on Tuesday.

We found out about Coulter’s trip when Seattle Police announced this afternoon that Chief Kathleen O’Toole had been invited to D.C. to join First Lady Michelle Obama for the speech, and that Coulter would accompany the chief to the capital:

… At the invitation of Mayor Murray, DeAndre Coulter, a Mayor’s Youth Employment Initiative Intern who participated in the Summer of Safety, the city’s coordinated approach to public safety providing jobs for youth and young adults, will accompany Chief O’Toole to Washington, D.C.

Coulter told us he has had the internship since last summer, working primarily on communications initiatives via the city Office of Economic Development and Office of Film and Music. His career aspirations include public relations and marketing. He’s also been working on some of that already for a family business – we had heard from him recently when he sent information about his mom Tara Scott‘s new restaurant in White Center, Taradise Café.

His trip to D.C. will be brief – leaving Monday morning, returning Wednesday. A special reception is part of the schedule. Coulter is quoted in the Seattle Police announcement as saying he hopes that his achievements will inspire other young people, including his siblings. He told us that he has two younger brothers, 12 and 15 years old, one of whom is a student at Denny International Middle School.

For anyone else considering an internship, he enthuses, “I say, go for it! This has brought me so many great connections and so many work experiences – apply to as many (internships) as you can. (Last summer) when I got this, I had no idea what great experiences I would have … more than I could have imagined.”

And as for the trip to D.C., he adds, “I’m super-excited and super-honored that the mayor suggested me.”

The State of the Union speech will be at 6 pm our time Tuesday (January 12th).