Gilbert Teen Gets White House Shoutout From First Lady Melania

GILBERT, AZ – "I am a sister, I'm a daughter, I am a person, and I have feelings," 13-year-old Kalani Goldberg said in a Facebook video that received a lot of attention earlier this year. On Monday, the Gilbert teen was honored at the White House for her words.

"Thank you, Kalani, for being brave enough teo tell your story," First Lady Melania Trump said in honoring her.

Kalani had been invited to the White House to attend the unveiling of the First Lady's "Be Best" initiative. She sat right behind President Trump during the ceremony.

The First Lady called out Kalani as one of several teens from around the country who have acted to change society for the better. (Get Phoenix Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts. Or, find your local Patch here and subscribe).

Patch told the story of how in her video, Kalani covered herself with Post-it notes, each one containing a name that she has been called.

"I wear your words," she said. Every day, it hurts. Every day, you are hurting me. Every day, you are hurting each other.

"I don't want to wear your words anymore."

Closer her to home, the mayor of Gilbert, Jenn Daniels, created #HaveCourageBeKind Day in her honor.

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Photo via Win McNamee/Getty Images News/Getty Images.