Xavier DeGroat Is the First White House Intern with Autism

Autism advocate and college student Xavier DeGroat is taking huge steps forward!

In what could be a historic first, autism advocate Xavier DeGroat has just finished an internship at the White House. “It means a lot that I interned at the White House and became the first autistic White House intern,” DeGroat told Fox News in an interview published recently.

The Michigan native began his internship at the White House in September. He was assigned to the presidential correspondence office, whose responsibility is addressing the millions of letters and other correspondence that the president receives each year. Although he didn’t have daily meetings with President Trump, DeGroat was fortunate enough to have met him twice during his internship.

One of the meetings with the president was arranged by a mutual connection, Rudy Giuliani, who organized a sit-down meeting in the oval office.

“I think he’s been good for the president and good for the White House. A lot of people have no exposure to people with autism. Or they don’t even realize they have it. And once they do, they almost always come away with a very different view of it, and a much more understanding view of it,” the former New York City mayor went on to say, referencing his internship.

Giuliani went on to say that DeGroat and others with autism being included in workspaces and the White House is a benefit to all.

Xavier once stated, “I am honored and pleased to have met with Mayor Rudy Giuliani and thankful for all his support getting my foot into the door of the most powerful place in the world.”

For over a decade, Xavier has dreamed of working at the White House, after having a dream that he would be lucky enough to meet the United States president one day.