Editorial: Cuban emigre is success story here

Friday, May 26, 2000 | 9:27 a.m.

The successful immigrant saga is embodied by Liliam Lujan Hickey, who fled Cuba for the United States shortly after Fidel Castro's rise to power resulted in a communist takeover of the island nation. Even after facing tough times once arriving here, Lujan Hickey never gave up. Eventually she found a job with Nevada's state Welfare Division, working there until her retirement in the mid-1990s.

She also demonstrated her commitment to public service, running for the state Board of Education, a position she has held since 1988. Term limits means Lujan Hickey can't run for a fourth term this year, so her leadership will be missed. For instance, Lujan Hickey started the Classroom on Wheels program, which aided underprivileged children by helping prepare them for kindergarten and an education. It's not common nowadays to find Nevadans willing to devote so much of their time to serve the public, but that's not the case with Lujan Hickey -- she definitely is a model citizen.

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