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Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) on Friday visited and toured the Alamo Colleges Floresville Center. While at the Center, he also visited an Aerospace Academy Class and spoke to the students about the importance of obtaining a higher education degree.

In 2008, Congressman Cuellar was instrumental in securing the $1.429 million that started the construction of the Floresville Center. The first $429,000 came from the 2008 Appropriations Omnibus Bill, while the remaining $1 million came from a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce -- Economic Development Administration.

“When I helped secure the $1.429 million for this center, our goal was very basic; We wanted to bring new, higher education opportunities to Wilson County so that students didn’t have to leave home to start or continue their college degree,” said Congressman Cuellar. “Access to higher education is very critical to the local economy. When you have an area with high levels of college degrees and access to higher education, companies want to locate there, thus improving the local economy.”

While visiting the Aerospace Academy Class, Congressman Cuellar reiterated to the students the importance of obtaining a college degree and explained to them that a person with a four-year degree will make $1 million more in their lifetime compared to a person who receives a high school diploma.

“That is what a college degree means to your personal income and your family’s income. I would say that four years of college in exchange for $1 million is a good deal,” he told the students.