[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 14, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     A TRIBUTE TO BARBARA GIBILISCO

                                 ______


                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 14, 1996

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to Barbara Gibilisco, a student a Neumann College in Aston, PA, Ms. 
Gibilisco is the recipient of the Pennsylvania Association for Adult 
and Continuing Education 1996 Award Recognizing Outstanding Adult 
Students in Higher Education.
  Criteria for judging undergraduate nominees are: contributions to 
institution and community; clearly defined goals; grades; innovative 
approaches to meeting educational needs; overcoming difficult 
circumstances in order to pursue higher education; sensitizing the 
institution to the needs of adult students; success in coping with 
numerous roles; support of others returning to school; and strength of 
nomination material.
  Those criteria, while impressive and difficult to meet, do not 
capture the courage, the commitment, nor the generosity of this woman. 
Barbara Gibilisco is a wheelchair mobile student graduating from 
Neumann College in May 1996, with a bachelor's degree in liberal 
studies. Even though Barbara lives independently with her mother, she 
attends classes at Inglis House, a wheelchair community in West 
Philadelphia which serves as an extension site campus for Neumann 
College. She has maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average 
throughout her career.
  In addition to being a student, Barbara Gibilisco owns and operates a 
home-based answering service; tutors the residents of Inglis House on 
the pre-GED and adult basic education level in reading, math, and 
computer literacy; is a certified Gateway tutor for the mayor's 
commission on literacy; is a party-time learning therapist for the 
Department of Education; and acts as a spokesperson for the Muscular 
Dystrophy Association and the Orleans Vocational Center. As a hobby, 
she is a licensed class amateur radio operator.
  After graduation, Barbara Gibilisco plans to work full-time to 
support herself and her mother. Her personal objectives are to design 
computer software programs related to compliance with the Americans 
With Disabilities Act; to serve as a consultant to small businesses and 
firms that seek to comply with the mandates of the Americans With 
Disabilities Act; and to work in an educational setting as a mentor, 
teacher, or small group leader with students in need of adult basic 
literacy education.
  Obviously, Barbara Gibilisco is deserving of this award. The courage 
and commitment she has brought to fulfilling her goals for a college 
education combined with a generosity of spirit reflected in her efforts 
to bring education to others makes Barbara Gibilisco a role model for 
all.

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