Sen. Ben Cardin speaks highly of Naomi Mburu after inviting her to the State of the Union address

A Kenyan-American student from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County was a chief guest of US Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland in the just concluded State of the Union address.Cardin praised Naomi Mburu, 21, a head of the meeting saying that the senior chemical engineering student at UMBC is the future of America and shows that everything is possible with hard work.“I am proud to bring this exceptional daughter of immigrants to our Nation’s Capitol for this special event,” Cardin said in a statement. “Ms. Mburu personifies the diverse future of this country and what can be achieved through hard work, dedication and a passion for science, technology, engineering and math.”Mburu is the first student in UMBC history to receive the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship and is the only one of 32 college students in the United States to be selected for the 2018 scholarship. She also has served as president and pre-college initiative chair of UMBC’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers.Ben Cardin used her to make a point to Donald Trump during the State of the Union address. At a time when Trump has been on the spot for campaigning against immigrants, Cardin hoped to show Trump that immigrants are also impactful in America.Dozens of other young immigrants sat in the House gallery overlooking the president as he spoke. They were invited by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer and other Democratic lawmakers to be present for the rather heated immigration debate that is dominating Congress's attention.Mburu is a first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Kenya.