Michelle Obama has celebrated the “glorious diversity” of the US in her farewell speech as First Lady.

Obama spoke at an East Room ceremony which honoured the 2017 school counsellor of the year.

In a powerful and emotional goodbye, Obama said young people should get the best education they can, enabling them to “lead by example with hope, never fear”.

“Don’t be afraid,” she added.

Obama went on to celebrate the “glorious diversity” of America, saying it is “not a threat to who we are” but that it “makes us who we are”.

“To the young people out there, do not ever let anyone make you feel like you don’t matter or like you don’t have a place in our American story, because you do,” Obama added.

“And you have a right to be exactly who you are.”

Urging Americans not to shy away from politics, she said that young people should “stand up for our proud American values”.

Adding that they should”rise above the voices of doubt and division, of anger and fear, that we have faced in our own lives and in the life of this country”.

Concluding, she thanked the school counsellors for their hard work, and said: “Being your first lady has been the greatest honour of my life, and I hope I’ve made you proud,” Mrs Obama said.