WASHINGTON -- Jovonni Taylor joked with his family to make sure the focus of his graduation remain on him, and not his school's commencement speaker.

Fat chance.

First lady Michelle Obama encouraged Taylor and his classmates at Washington Mathematics Science Technology Public Charter School to take control of their futures.

"Own your voice, own it," Obama said of the class' pending college years. "Don't be intimidated by your new surroundings. Remember everyone else is in the same position you're in."

Obama praised WMST in her address Wednesday as "one of the best charter schools in the country."

"I'm proud that I made it," said Taylor, who's still trying to decide where to attend college. "I'm graduating and Michelle Obama's here. What more can I ask for?"

Obama accepted WMST student Jasmine Williams' invitation to come speak at the school's graduation.

"I think she definitely has the motherly instinct," Williams said of Obama's presence and interaction with the students. "She told me if I can do this, I can do anything."