( CNN ) -- Her school has become a symbol of the kind of crumbling infrastructure that President Obama hopes his stimulus bill will improve . South Carolina student Ty'Sheoma Bethea was invited to the speech after she wrote a letter to lawmakers . But on Tuesday , Ty'Sheoma Bethea became the face of the issue , when she joined first lady Michelle Obama as her guest for the president 's first speech to a joint session of Congress . The White House invited Bethea , a student at the J.V . Martin Junior High School in Dillon , South Carolina , after a letter she sent lawmakers appealing for help rebuilding her school made its way to the president . The eighth-grader flew with her mother , Dina Leach , from South Carolina to Washington to attend Tuesday night 's speech . On Wednesday , back home in South Carolina , Bethea explained what she wanted the president to do . `` I just want for him to help my school out and to get us a bigger and better school and build us a new one , and I would thank him for that . '' she told CNN . The eighth-grader was inspired to write the letter by Obama , who mentioned her school in his first presidential news conference on February 9 . After visiting the school , he referenced J.V . Martin as evidence of educational institutions that would benefit from school construction funding in his $ 787 billion stimulus package . iReport.com : ' A very emotional moment ' In her letter , Bethea described the dilapidated condition of her school , which was built in 1896 , and said the funds would improve the building and the quality of education . `` We are just students trying to become lawyers , doctors , congressmen like yourself , and one day president , so we can make a change to not just the state of South Carolina , but also the world . We are not quitters . '' Watch Obama quote Bethea in speech » . Obama repeated Bethea 's statement about not quitting during his address . `` It was great to hear the president say my quote , '' Bethea said Wednesday . `` We are not quitters because anything is possible , and I do n't think we should give up so easily . We should work harder for it . '' Poorly maintained and ill-equipped schools in South Carolina 's `` corridor of shame '' were an issue during the Democratic primary as evidence that education reform had to be an imperative for the next president . The schools became an issue again last week when South Carolina Gov . Mark Sanford , a Republican , said he might turn down some of the money in the stimulus . And South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn , the highest-ranking African-American in Congress , said turning down money was an `` insult '' to blacks . `` We have legislation here now with the money to do something about the schools , do something about water and sewage along that corridor in these 12 counties . And now the governor says , ' I do n't want to accept the money . ' That 's why I called this an insult , that 's why I said this is a slap in the face , because a majority of those counties are , in fact , inhabited by African-Americans , '' Clyburn said on CNN 's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer . In his speech Tuesday , Obama vowed that education is among the priorities of his administration . He urged Americans to take advantage of the promise of an education . Watch Obama discuss education » . `` In a global economy , where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge , a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity . It is a prerequisite , '' he said . `` It is our responsibility as lawmakers and as educators to make this system work , but it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it . '' Obama said . iReport.com : What would you fix first ? `` So tonight , I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training . This can be a community college or a four-year school , vocational training or an apprenticeship . But whatever the training may be , every American will need to get more than a high school diploma . ''
Student Michelle Obama joins Obama for president 's speech . Michelle Obama wrote a letter to lawmakers appealing for help rebuilding her school . President Ty'Sheoma Bethea has referenced school as example of needy infrastructure project . Obama poorly maintained schools have been a recurring issue .