Nearly 400 Arroyo High School students received a special visit Friday afternoon from a visitor who flew in from the White House.

No, it was not President Barack Obama.

However, it was his national media campaign specialist from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Mikael Wagner.

Wagner talked about "Above the Influence," a national youth anti-drug media campaign he was recruited to work on for the past year.

"My goal in this position is to not only decrease drug and alcohol abuse but to raise self-esteem," Wagner said to the cafeteria packed with students and staff.

Applause and cheers filled the room after he presented various television campaign ads, most of which students already seemed familiar with.

"I love that commercial," said a girl in the audience.

And it's that familiarity that's evident on the Facebook page. Wagner said when he started the campaign, only 60,000 people "liked" the page. Today, that number is over 385,000, most of which are teens.

"They're the ones who are really the driving force of this campaign," Wagner said.

At the assembly, about a dozen students shared their responses in an activity called "tagging." They wrote down what they were "above" and presented their responses to their peers. Some listed racism, smoking, gangs and drug dealing. Like the ads, they too received cheers and support from fellow classmates.

"This is why I travel around the country," Wagner told the students, "to hear what you're thinking."

He encouraged the teens to follow the campaign on Facebook so they can engage with other kids across the country in discussion about drugs and alcohol, offer and receive support, and also participate in contests and challenges.

Students asked the San Francisco native various questions, from how much he makes to how his job in Washington, D.C., compares to what he did in the Bay Area. Wagner responded candidly, especially when it came to the question on what made him decide to take the job in the first place.

He spoke about his past - growing up in the ghetto and having his brother, who always seemed to be under the influence of alcohol, murdered when he was 15 years old.

Wagner said that was a turning point in his life.

"At the time I thought I'd never reach the age of 18 because there was so much violence in my community," he said. "But then I decided I have to do better for me, myself, my family."

He went onto college and eventually went into a successful career of marketing and public relations.

In fact, it was the son of one of Wagner's employees, Arroyo High student Killian Bridges, that asked him to stop by at the San Lorenzo school and present his campaign.

Wagner said he plans to come back to the Bay Area in March, when his contract with the campaign is up.

"You could never purchase the experience I picked up," he said. "It's been an exciting ride."

For more information of the "Above the Influence" campaign, visit www.abovetheinfluence.com.