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2 Manatee Students Invited To Obama Inauguration

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Liliana Ibarra and Pedro Limas earned a trip to attend the historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20.

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By CHRISTOPHER O'DONNELL

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: November 14, 2008

MANATEE COUNTY - High school students Liliana Ibarra and Pedro Limas have overcome the obstacles to education faced by many children from migrant families.

Every summer, for example, Liliana's family heads to Michigan to work the cucumber crop. By the time she returns home -- to a trailer at Camp No. 6 on Falkner Farms -- she has missed a month of classes at Lakewood Ranch High School and has to work doubly hard to catch up.

Pedro, a junior at Palmetto High School, spent last summer working 12-hour days in Indiana cornfields to gain a life lesson regarding hard work from his parents.

As a result of their determination, Liliana and Pedro have excelled in and out of the classroom, organizing blood drives and inspiring other students to succeed.

Their efforts have not gone unnoticed.

The two were among only eight migrant students from across Florida who earned a trip to attend the historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20.

As well as witnessing the inaugural oath, the two will watch the Inaugural Parade and get a tour of the capital's monuments on a seven-day expenses-paid trip organized by Close Up, a civic organization.

"It means so much for me; my family is so proud," Pedro said.

To be eligible, students had to be in the 11th grade and have a grade-point average of at least 3.0. They were judged on personal essays and had to submit letters of recommendation from teachers and principals.

In her essay, Liliana, 16, wrote about the pain of constantly moving from school to school. Since enrolling at Lakewood Ranch High, she has missed the first few weeks.

That often means the honors classes and electives she needs are already full.

She helps her mother raise her younger brother and two sisters, and sometimes helps work in the field.

Despite this, she is an honors student with a 3.75 GPA. She has organized blood drives and has volunteered to read to elementary school students.

Even more remarkable, teachers and school staff say, is the time she spends mentoring other Latino students to keep up their grades and improve their English.

"She sees her future as very different to what her life has been so far," said Laraine Batista, migrant home-school liaison for Manatee County. "Considering her lifestyle, what she was born into, it's amazing."

Liliana said she was excited to be a small part of history, but wants to use the experience to help others.

"I want to see how it changes me and bring back what I learn to my peers," she said.

Life has become easier for Pedro since his father, Pedro Antonio Limas, got a job as a fork-lift driver at a tomato packing plant in Palmetto.

Before that, changing schools was a way of life, often during the middle of the school year. Pedro attended schools in Georgia and Texas and spent summers in farmworker camps in Maryland and Indiana.

Determined her children would master English, his mother, Cecilia Limas, struggled with the unfamiliar language to read to her children.

Pedro, 17, now has a GPA of 4.3 and takes Advanced Placement and honors classes. He is first chair alto saxophone in the jazz and concert bands, and was class president his first two years at Palmetto High.

"It's something for the future to tell my kids," Pedro said. "I was there when he made history."

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