Famed Student Reporter Who Interviewed President Barack Obama Dies at 23

Damon Weaver, the student reporter who made headlines in 2009 after interviewing President Barack Obama at the White House, has died at age 23, his family announced. Weaver died May 1 of natural causes, his family said. Weaver, who was studying communications at Albany State University, famously began his career at the ripe age of 11, when he interviewed Obama, asking him questions mainly about education. He went on to interview Oprah and Dwayne Wade. “He was just a nice person, genuine, very intelligent,” said Candace Hardy, his sister.“Very outspoken, outgoing. He never said no to anybody.” Weaver started his reporting career in fifth grade, when he volunteered for his elementary school’s newscast. “Right away, I just saw the potential for the way he was on camera. You could see his personality come through. He wasn’t nervous being on camera,” his teacher said of him.