Richard Kessinger loves to hit the gym. But some days he needs a little something to get him pumped up for his weightlifting routine.

"You might be a little bit sore. You might be tired. You might have had too many beers the day before," says Kessinger, 23, of Arlington, Va. "So you might start putting up a set and you get a few reps in and you're like, 'I'm not feeling this. I can't keep going.' "

In Chicago on Friday, President Obama explored his home city's gun violence problem at an appearance at a South Side high school — the same school NPR's David Schaper visited two years ago to report on its "safe passage" program to help students get to and from school safely. Schaper returns to see how the program and other anti-violence initiatives are working.

This segment was originally broadcast on Jan. 28, 2013.

Al Roker, the veteran weatherman on NBC's Today show, endured years of indignities as an obese teenager and throughout his television career. Then, in 2002, he had bariatric surgery and lost more than 100 pounds. But deciding to have the procedure, which is potentially life-threatening, wasn't easy — and neither was keeping the weight off afterward.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. It is Presidents Day, a day we celebrate the nation's presidents, and for many people it's a day off: a day to spend time with friends and family.

The president of Kalamazoo College is getting some national attention. Eileen Wilson-Oyelaren has been named chairwoman of the board at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

She took the position at the group’s annual meeting in Washington last week. The association represents the interests of private non-profit colleges and universities.