Sasha Obama Is Getting Ready To Graduate From College

Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty

UPDATED:  2:28 p.m ET, January 18, 2023 —

Big things are brewing from Sasha Obama.

In 2022, the busy college student transferred from the University of Michigan to the University of Southern California. Now, the 21-year-old is in her final year of college and she’ll be graduating in late 2023. According to PEOPLE, Sasha is studying psychology at USC. Before heading out west, the young star completed her high school degree at the Sidwell Friends School in D.C.

Wow, time really does fly by.

People all over the world have watched Sasha and her big sister Malia grow up since they entered the political spotlight following their father Barack Obama’s historical presidency. Sasha and Malia were 8 and 10, respectively, when they moved into the White House. The sister duo lived there throughout their father’s two terms, from 2009 to 2017.

In a 2008 interview with PEOPLE, Barack revealed that the move from their hometown in Chicago to the Whitehouse was a little tough for the girls. 

“Malia and Sasha are not looking forward to moving” nor to “the prospects of having to make new friends,” he said at the time. “So I’m sure that there’s a part of them that says we won’t be heartbroken if things don’t work out.”

Thankfully, everything worked out in the end. Now, Sasha and Malia are all grown up, and the siblings have been enjoying their adult lives in Los Angeles. The sister duo lives together in their very own apartment.

In her new book The Light We Carry, Michelle revealed that her daughters decorated their shared pad with furniture from yard sales and IKEA. According to the former first lady, Sasha and Malia even created a budget to track their spending. Now that their apartment is all furnished and decked out, sometimes the girls host dinner and cocktail parties for their parents. During an interview with TODAY in 2022, Michelle joked that girls could use a little help with their drink-making skills.

“The martinis were a little weak. I don’t think they really knew what it was,” she recalled of one of their fun at-home cocktail events.

Over the holiday season, Sasha and Malia were spotted in Hawaii spending some much-needed downtime near their family vacation home. While out and about on the island, the siblings took some time to give back to the community. In photos obtained by Hello Magazine, Sasha and Malia were photographed handing out food and blankets to residents in Oahu. Donning a white cropped top, a belly button ring and tie-dye parachute pants, Sasha was all smiles as she helped to give back to residents. Malia wore a comfy gray dress and a pair of sunglasses for her work attire. She completed the casual look with black boots and a colorful headband.

Since entering adulthood, Sasha and Malia have kept a low profile when it comes to their personal lives. Malia graduated from Harvard in 2021. Now, she’s working as a scriptwriter for Donald Glover’s new Amazon project. Sasha is finishing out her studies at USC and is enjoying life to the fullest.

In April 2022, Michelle Obama stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show and talked about what it’s been like watching Malia and Sasha grow up to be beautiful women.  The former First Lady candidly spoke about motherhood and how the girls used to love the Jonas Brothers, but now they’re bringing “grown men’” home.

“Before it was just, like, pop bands,” Michelle told Ellen. “Now they have boyfriends and real lives.”

Michelle’s confirmation that the girls in fact had boyfriends sent the internet into a frenzy.  Two days after the interview, Sasha Obama was spotted with her alleged boyfriend Clifton Powell Jr. 

Powell Jr., who is a former college basketball player, is the son of actor Clifton Powell. Sasha’s new boo Clifton Powell Jr. creates content for Nike and Peloton. The couple has been believed to be dating since Sasha moved to California.

https://twitter.com/fabfeedz/status/1516972746395336711

It’s surreal to see Sasha Obama as an adult. We’ve watched her grow up alongside her powerful parents for two terms, and now she and her sister Malia have ventured off to live their own independent lives.

MORE: Sasha Obama Is Living Her Best Life

Sasha has made headlines for a number of moments where she appeared to be acting a little unpresidential, like in 2020, when a photo surfaced on social media showing the former president’s youngest daughter wearing a scantily clad outfit.

Prior to the crop top viral moment, Sasha was seen in a widely shared social media video lip-syncing some explicit lyrics to Moneybagg Yo’s “Said Sum” remix featuring The City Girls and DaBaby.

But… everyone has their moments, right? Everyone has displayed age-appropriate behavior at one point or another, and college students having some clean fun are no exception to that rule. Not to mention, Sasha — like the rest of us –certainly has more room to grow.

Some of that growth may have happened once the pandemic hit last year and both Sasha and Malia returned home to continue their education online like millions of other students across America.

Michelle Obama gushed about having both of her girls home during an interview with PEOPLE.

“This time has allowed us to get some stolen moments back with our girls,” she explained. “Those recaptured moments have meant the world to us and I think they’ve made our relationships with our children even stronger.”

However, with the girls loving their freedom away from home at college, Michelle added that she had to create a little “structure” for both Sasha and Malia upon their return from school.

“Ya know, we’re just trying to, like, structure our days,” Mrs. Obama told Ellen Degeneres during an appearance on the comedian’s show back in March of last year, according to PEOPLE. “I mean, everybody’s home. The girls are back because colleges are now online. So they’re off in their respective rooms doing their online classes and I think Barack is — I don’t know where he is. He was on the phone on a conference call. I just got finished with a conference call.”

It was not immediately clear if Sasha returned to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, but either way, it’s clear that she has done quite a lot since she first set off to university.

Keep reading to find a few interesting things you might not have known about the youngest Obama daughter.

1. Sasha Vacationing With The Family

Sasha Obama, Malia, and their father Barack were recently seen enjoying the beach as the family spent their annual vacation in Hawaii. Sasha and her sister relaxed on their paddleboards off the island of O’ahu, while poppa Obama took a dip in the ocean and enjoyed some sun.

2. She Turned 20 In June

Sasha celebrated her 20th birthday back in June of this year. Both Obama and Michelle took to social media to give their youngest daughter a big birthday shoutout out on her special day.

“Happy birthday to my darling Sasha!” Michelle tweeted. “I am so grateful for every laugh we’ve shared — and everything you’ve taught me over the years. You’ll always be my little girl, but I couldn’t be prouder of the woman you are becoming. Love you so much!”

While Barack posted:

“Happy birthday, Sasha! You’ve grown so much, and it’s been a joy to watch you become the person we always hoped you’d be. Your mom and I can’t wait to see where life takes you next.”

A month prior to the young University of Michigan student’s birthday, Mrs. Obama said she almost forgot Sasha and Malia’s birthday, which falls on June 10 and July 4.

“I mean, I’m just like ‘Stop there.’ I don’t even have teenagers anymore,” Michelle said, adding that she was looking forward to watching her daughter grow.

3. She's A Good Baker

Mrs. Obama told PEOPLE last year that Sasha, who recently completed her sophomore year, had become a “midnight baker” along with her sister Malia–and apparently, they’re good cooks too, according to Michelle.

“They were baking way too much at the beginning of quarantine, too many delicious pies. They were good at it! Good pie crust, good fillings,” she explained.”I have retired my cooking badge, I have relinquished that skill to people who are much better at it than I am. Now that [Malia and Sasha] are back, they are cooking more,” she said, adding, “My girls are very much into cooking, they love the freedom of being in the kitchen, they love creating, they love experimenting. So I’ve passed on that right to the next generation.”

4. She's Growing A Passion For Activism

During an interview with Anderson Cooper back in June, Barack  Obama spoke with viewers about both Sasha and Malia’s burgeoning passion for political activism, ET notes.

“What I find interesting is they’re also starting to be very strategic about how to engage the system and change it,” Obama told CNN. “They’re not just interested in making noise, they’re interested in what works.”

Obama previously spoke about how excited he was with Sasha and Malia for their participation in the George Floyd protests last year.

“Malia and Sasha found their own ways to get involved with the demonstrations and activism that you saw with young people this summer, without any prompting from Michelle and myself, on their own initiative. They didn’t do it in a way where they were looking for limelight. They were very much in organizer mode,” their dad said then, adding: “I could not have been prouder of them.”

5. She Has A Great Taste In Music

Obama has referred to Sasha as the family’s music guru in the past, and we can certainly thank her for lending her superb music skills to creating the former president’s annual summer playlist. Last year, Obama revealed that Sasha played a big role in developing his coveted playlist, but according to Vulture, sometimes Sasha doesn’t let her dad in on all her favorite tunes.

“Sasha’s more protective of her music,” Obama explained during an interview with Snapchat’s Good Luck America. “There’s certain things on SoundCloud — she has, like, a private playlist. She won’t share all of it with me because she’s not sure I’m hip enough to handle it.”

While the youngest daughter of Obama can be a little wary of sharing her favorite tracks, last year Sasha showed out with her selection for the prez’ annual playlist. The list included hits like Megan Thee Stallion and Beyonce’s “Savage” remix along with Lil Baby’s “The Bigger Picture.”

6. She's A Badass

According to Obama, all three of the women in his life are complete “badasses” but Sasha just might take the cake. The former president shared the interesting tidbit during an interview with Instyle. The 60-year-old raved about his youngest daughter’s strong will and relentless independence.

“Sasha is, as Malia describes it, completely confident about her own take on the world and is not cowed or intimidated — and never has been — by anybody’s titles, anybody’s credentials,” he explained. “If she thinks something’s wrong or right, she will say so.”

In his book “A Promised Land,” Obama recalled a moment where Sasha refused to try caviar during a family visit to Russia. The prez shared that it was a moment where he officially took note of his daughter’s determined spirit.

 “She was like, ‘No. Sorry. That looks slimy. It’s nasty,'” Obama explained of Sasha’s defiance about trying the salt-cured delicacy. “‘I’m not going to do it — even if I’ve got to give up dessert.'” And that part of her character has always been there,” he added.

7. She Has Style

Whether she’s rocking a casual look or dazzling in runway couture, Sasha has certainly inherited her mother’s sense of style. The mother-daughter duo has been spotted throughout the years,  sporting similar looks like the time she and Michelle wore matching printed snakeskin dresses or another moment where the two dressed down in navy-green-colored jackets. Drake has even called Sasha a “Style Popper” in the past referring to her superb taste in fashion.