"He did influence me a lot. He had the same thoughts I had. Parents should be more involved with education. That's why kids who listen or who have more discipline ... have more success."

- Kevin Xiong, 13

"It's a really great honor to have him in our school. When he was talking about he didn't have a father and he got in trouble a lot in seventh and eighth grade ... seeing how successful he got can lead me to great things."

- Jeremy Arevalo, 13

"It was really exciting. It was weird that he came to Madison, though. I thought he'd go to California or someplace like that. I thought it was really cool to know that a president was in the same building as me."

- Daniela Arevalo, 12

"I did the Pledge of Allegiance and Barack Obama was coming to the school, so I decided I should get a suit ... The most memorable thing was when he was specifically talking to us. It made us feel like we had responsibilities to take care of (and) to be successful."

- Ari Davis, 12

"I expected more of a formal thing ... I thought he'd make you feel uncomfortable - that's how I feel about important people - but he just turned out to be more down to earth ... Seeing him here in my school just made it seem like he cared."

- Alicia Michaels, 13

"It was pretty cool because he (Obama) could see the people of Madison, how much they care. It was a really great experience."

- Mathias Lemos, 13

"I thought it was great to hear him talk. It made me think about myself - not to get good grades for my parents, but for myself."

- Cosha Wright, an eighth-grader from Milwaukee and the granddaughter of the late civil rights leader James C. Wright, for whom Wright Middle School is named

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