They are words to live by for Irene Aco-Cortes, a Lancaster resident and mother of three. Since arriving in the United States three years ago from a small Aztec community in Puebla, Mexico, she has repeatedly used that phrase to challenge herself and the people around her. Take, for example, her kids.

Shortly after enrolling her two sons--Alejandro and Raymundo--in Lancaster's J.P. McCaskey High School, Irene decided that they would find more opportunities for college scholarships by participating in the school's International Baccalaureate program. Although their English was weak and the curriculum demanding, Irene was sure the boys were up to the challenge. So she thought, "Why not?"

But, according to Irene, a school administrator discouraged her attempts, saying her boys might find more success in a vocational program.

That was Round One.

In Round Two, she argued her case at a second appointment, only to meet the same results. It wasn't until a third meeting, Irene recounts, that she got the answer she wanted. The boys entered the program, and several years later, both graduated and went on to college--Alejandro to Franklin & Marshall College, where he is double majoring in economics and government, and Raymundo with a full scholarship to Swarthmore College, where he's pre-med.

It would have been so easy to give up, but barriers seem to make Irene even more determined, especially when it comes to education. "I always ask my kids 'Why not? You are healthy. You are smart. You have all of the tools you need [to succeed],'" she says. "If you work with them as kids, to learn all they can learn, it opens up opportunities. [Knowledge] is not just for college, it's for life.

Not to be outdone, little sister Nicte is already collecting her own set of honors. Lancaster's YMCA recently named her 2009's "YMCA Youth Member of the Year." As for Irene, who earned both a law degree and an education degree in her home country, she's following her own advice. After work, she attends night classes at Harrisburg Area Community College, hoping to earn an education degree so she may teach Spanish to teens. While she gets frustrated at times with her still evolving ability to understand and speak English, she's never been one to let language get in the way of dreams. That is a message she hopes the Latino community will embrace.

"Sometimes [the Latino community] cuts the dreams of our children because we say, '[English] is too hard,' she says. "But if we work hard and look for ways to achieve opportunities, the opportunities are out there."

"We have our own invisible barriers as a Latino community," she explains. "But we can do it. Why not?"

Family: Husband, Raonel Machado-Moreno, married 10 years; children Alejandro Alfaro-Aco, 21; Raymundo Alfaro-Aco, 18; and Nicte Machado-Aco, 8.

Employment:  Caregiver.

How I met my husband: He came to Mexico from Cuba as a boxing trainer for teens in middle school, where I was a teacher.

Our favorite family activity: Playing basketball. I find it fun to run around together.

My family's favorite meal: Mexican food. Enchiladas or something traditional.

A book I'd recommend: "Como Agua Para Chocolate," by Laura Esquivel. [Note: The book is available in English as "Like Water for Chocolate."] I also love poetry and books about social issues.

My favorite TV show: I don't really watch it.

Music of choice: I like an artist from Spain ... Juan Manuel Serrat. Lyrics are important to me.

Exercise of choice: I walk about an hour and fifteen minutes to and from work.

My best shortcut: Walking with my daughter to her summer camp on my way to work. I exercise AND get to spend time with her.

How I indulge: I drink coffee by myself in our backyard in the early morning.

What I hope my kids learn from me: You must be modest, but you can reach anything you want. You can be most ambitious.

Toughest part of being a mom: To teach [my kids] responsibilities and then let them go out into the world with that knowledge.

My ideal weekend: Spending time with the whole family.