Barack Obama's Education

Barack Obama's Education

In 1967, when Obama was 6, Obama briefly attended the Noelani Elementary School in Hawaii as a kindergartener. He spent time at Noelani for three months only since their family had to move to Jakarta, Indonesia, the hometown of Barack’s second husband Lolo Soetero. In Indonesia, Barack attended the Franciscus Assisi Primary School, a Catholic school in Jakarta, Indonesia. After two years, his stepfather was promoted in the American oil company he was working for. Lolo Soetero moved his family to a better neighborhood, and Barack Jr. transferred to the Besuki Primary School, a state school closer to the family’s new residence.

In 1971, Barack was sent back to Hawaii by his mother Ann Dunham to live with his white maternal grandparents. With the help of his grandparents as well, Barack earned a scholarship at the prestigious Punahuo School starting fifth grade. He attended Punahuo until he graduated from high school in 1979 (with honors) at the age of 18. During his high school in 1975, Barack joined his school’s basketball team and became a class leader.

After graduating from high school, he moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at Occidental College. After two years, he transferred to Columbia University where he took BA in Political Science majoring in International Relations. He graduated in 1983, with thesis on Russian nuclear disarmament.

After graduating from college, Barack briefly worked at the Business International Corporation, then at New York Public Interest Group. He then took a job as director of the Chicago-based community group. He worked on Developing Communities Project, a project at helping improve the conditions of a housing project of low-income residents.

Like his father, Barack Obama pursued further studies at Harvard. After working for five years for the Chicago-based community organization, Barack Obama entered Harvard Law School. During his first year, he worked as editor of the Harvard Law Review, and became the first African-American president of the journal during his second year. In 1991, he graduated from Harvard with a Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude.