News14.com

  82º

02/25/2009 09:52 PM

Girl returns from trip to visit the president

By: Conan Gasque

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DILLON, S.C. – Not every 14-year-old can say they've had a chance to personally meet the President of the United States. But one girl from Dillon, S.C. came home Wednesday after doing just that.

Ty’Sheoma Bethea was invited to attend President Obama's speech to Congress Tuesday night after writing a letter to Congress about the state of her school.

Bethea attends J.V. Martin Junior High School, a school well-known for its dilapidated state and its need for financial assistance. Bethea’s letter asked Congress for help.

After reading it, the president invited her to join him for his speech to Congress Tuesday night.

When she met him, she had a special message.

"I told him that I was just a kid from Dillon trying to get a new school," she said. She hopes her effort will lead to changes.

“I hope it'll accomplish getting us a new and better school,” she said. “So we can learn the way other students are learning across the nation."

Upon arrival back home in Dillon, she shared her experiences with a cheering crowd of students and teachers at J.V. Martin’s auditorium.

She also shared a little secret she learned about the White House.

"Their secret is,” she said from the podium, pausing for suspense. “They have a bowling alley at the bottom of the White House." Bethea said playing there and using the same lane as President Harry Truman was her favorite part of the trip, even though she admitted not knowing much about the sport.

What she does understand is the need for improvement at her school. She hopes her letter will lead to that, but even after changes are made, she said her work isn't done.

"My future is trying to become the first lady president," she told reporters.

And upon her return to the White House as the leading lady, she said her first objective is building better schools and better education – the same desire that helped her earn her first trip there.