CNN : Middle school student Vidal Chastanet was simply stating his truth about the school principal who inspires him in his rough Brooklyn neighborhood.

Featured in the wildly popular "Humans of New York" photo series in January, a picture of Chastanet along with his sentiments went viral, and a subsequent fundraiser pulled in more than $1 million for his school.

That's how Chastanet, 13, ended up at the White House on Thursday.

The young man; his inspirational principal, Nadia Lopez; and "Humans of New York" creator Brandon Stanton all got the chance to meet Obama. (That's Chastanet in Obama's seat in the Oval Office.)

"You don't do things alone," Obama told Chastanet, according to Stanton's blog. "Nobody does things alone. Everybody always needs support.

"For a young man like you, you should never be too afraid or too shy to look for people who can encourage you or mentor you," Obama said. "There are a lot of people out there who want to provide advice and support to people who are trying to do the right thing. So you'll have a lot of people helping you. Just always remember to be open to help. Never think that you know everything. And always be ready to listen."

 "Who's influenced you the most in your life?"
"My principal, Ms. Lopez."
"How has she influenced you?"
"When we get in trouble, she doesn't suspend us. She calls us to her office and explains to us how society was built down around us. And she tells us that each time somebody fails out of school, a new jail cell gets built. And one time she made every student stand up, one at a time, and she told each one of us that we matter."

"This is a neighborhood that doesn't necessarily expect much from our children, so at Mott Hall Bridges Academy we set our expectations very high. We don't call the children 'students,' we call them 'scholars.' Our color is purple. Our scholars wear purple, and so do our staff," Lopez told Stanton, who featured her picture on "Humans of New York."

"Because purple is the color of royalty. I want my scholars to know that even if they live in a housing project, they are part of a royal lineage going back to great African kings and queens. They belong to a group of individuals who invented astronomy and math. And they belong to a group of individuals who have endured so much history and still overcome. When you tell people you're from Brownsville, their face cringes up. But there are children here that need to know that they are expected to succeed."