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Press Release

Rep. Cuellar Announces Laredo Middle School Teacher as Guest for State of the Union Address

Washington, January 14, 2015 | Rafael Benavides ((956) 725-0639)
Tags: Education
Congressman Cuellar today announced that he will host Maribel Urbina, an 8th grade teacher at Mirabeau B. Lamar middle school in Laredo, Texas, as his personal guest to the President's State of the Union address on Jan. 20.
Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX28) today announced that he will host Maribel Urbina, an 8th grade teacher at Mirabeau B. Lamar middle school in Laredo, Texas, as his personal guest to the State of the Union address.

“Teachers make up the foundation of our communities by taking care of our children and fostering their education in an often under-appreciated career,” Congressman Cuellar said. “Ms. Urbina is a wonderful teacher that goes above and beyond for her Laredo students and is lauded by her class and the school’s administration. She’s a deserving recipient of this honor and It’s a privilege to have her as my distinguished guest in Washington during the President’s State of the Union Address.”

Urbina was selected by Congressman Cuellar’s office in a random drawing of teachers that were nominated by school administrators from Texas’ 28th Congressional district. Urbina was nominated by Laredo Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Marcus Nelson and the principal of Lamar Middle School, Margarita Taboada. She is a graduate of TAMIU, where she obtained a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in History, and has been teaching Social Studies since January of 1998. She has been involved in several community and charitable projects and in 2013, she won the School Bell Award from the Laredo Chamber of Commerce. The award is presented to those educators that are selected by their peers for their performance in and out of the classroom.

The President will deliver the 2015 State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, January 20. Last year, Cuellar hosted Luis Castañeda from Dr. Cuellar Elementary School for the speech.