--- description: President Obama spoke to a group of young people at the University of Chicago during his first public appearance since leaving office title: Read Barack Obama's First Public Remarks Since Leaving Office image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt828968b3759cad4c/6988ca6d7cdbac0180d580c7/gettyimages-672356520.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read Barack Obama's First Public Remarks Since Leaving Office by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 24, 2017 7:41 PM CUT  Former President Barack Obama listens as participants speak during a forum at the University of Chicago held to promote community organizing on April 24, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson—Getty Images Former President Barack Obama listens as participants speak during a forum at the University of Chicago held to promote community organizing on April 24, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson—Getty ImagesScott Olson—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 24, 2017 7:41 PM CUT [Former president Barack Obama](http://time.com/4752768/barack-obama-speech-university-of-chicago-young-leaders/?xid=homepage "undefined") made his first public appearance since leaving office on Monday, hosting a discussion at the University of Chicago with [students from across the city](http://time.com/4752253/barack-obama-speech-watch-online/ "undefined"). He said the work he did in Chicago as a community organizer laid the groundwork for his life in politics. “This community gave me a lot more than I was able to give in return, because this community taught me that ordinary people, when working together, can do extraordinary things,” Obama said. In his opening remarks, before chatting with students from all over the city about civic engagement and leadership, Obama said he’d thought a lot about what he wants to do for his “next job.” “And what I’m convinced of is that although there are all kinds of issues that I care about and all kinds of issues that I intend to work on, the single most important thing I can do is to help in any way I can prepare the next generation of leadership to take up the baton and to take their own crack at changing the world,” Obama said. Read the full remarks here: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4753027/barack-obama-university-of-chicago-speech-transcript/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4753027/barack-obama-university-of-chicago-speech-transcript/"},"headline":"Read Barack Obama's First Public Remarks Since Leaving Office","datePublished":"2017-04-24T19:41:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:34:43.463Z","description":"Obama said he's thought a lot about his \"next job\"","url":"https://time.com/4753027/barack-obama-university-of-chicago-speech-transcript/","keywords":["Barack Obama","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt828968b3759cad4c/6988ca6d7cdbac0180d580c7/gettyimages-672356520.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt828968b3759cad4c/6988ca6d7cdbac0180d580c7/gettyimages-672356520.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former President Obama Speaks On Civic Engagement At The University Of Chicago","caption":"Former President Obama Speaks On Civic Engagement At The University Of Chicago","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4753027/barack-obama-university-of-chicago-speech-transcript/","name":"Read Barack Obama's First Public Remarks Since Leaving Office"}}]}] ```