Malia Obama moves in to Harvard, with a little help from mom and dad

Malia Obama was just like any other freshman moving into Harvard University this week, except maybe for those Secret Service agents shadowing her mom and dad.

Michelle and Barack Obama quietly moved their firstborn into a freshman dorm at the Ivy League school. The (arguably) most famous member of Harvard’s Class of 2021 has arrived.

Malia, who is 19, graduated last year from Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., and took a gap year. She did an internship with film and TV production company Weinstein Co. in New York, according to People, and did some traveling, including a family trip to Bali this summer.

Though she’s certainly not the first celebrity to attend Harvard – Natalie Portman is a graduate – Malia’s purposefully low-key arrival on campus managed to prompt a bit of buzz on social media.

Paparazzi tried to get close to the former president and first lady as they walked about Harvard Square, but Malia is trying to fly under the radar. A reporter for The Boston Globe who saw her out and about town on Tuesday approached her and asked for an interview.

“I can’t,” Malia told the reporter but politely shook their hand, the newspaper reported.

“As a parent, we’re well aware, but our son doesn’t seem to be as concerned as we are,” Shannon Whisenant, whose son moved into the same dorm as Malia, told the Globe. “We were kind of excited when we found out.”

Last year the former president told People the advice he gave his oldest daughter about college. He and his wife are both graduates of Harvard Law School.

“Be open to new experiences when you go to college,” he told her. “Don’t go to college just to duplicate the same experience you had in high school.”

It’s unclear what Malia’s major will be.

She’s not the only first daughter hitting campus this year. Tiffany Trump, 23, began orientation at Georgetown University’s law school in D.C. this week.

Trump, who is very active on social media, probably will provide updates.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Malia Obama moves in to Harvard, with a little help from mom and dad."