[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 26, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO RODNEY GRAHAM AND AKILAH HUGINE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 26, 1999

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to two of my 
constituents in the Sixth Congressional District of South Carolina, 
Rodney K. Graham and Akilah L. Hugine. These two exceptional young 
people have been selected to participate in the 1999 NASA Summer High 
School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP) PLUS.
  The SHARP PLUS program is sponsored by NASA and the Quality Education 
for Minorities (QEM) Network. They are 2 of 300 high school students 
who will be participating in this summer's program. Rodney and Akilah 
were chosen from over 1,200 applicants representing 195 high schools in 
34 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin 
Islands.
  Since the 6 years the SHARP PLUS program has been in existence, it 
has provided almost 1,500 summer research apprenticeships to rising 
high school juniors and seniors interested in mathematics, science, 
engineering, and technology. Although Rodney and Akilah were chosen 
based on their exceptional math and science skills, they have not had 
the opportunity to apply this knowledge in a research environment. The 
SHARP PLUS program will give them the opportunity to work with 
professional research scientists and engineers in university and 
industry settings. They will be working on research projects and 
presenting papers based on their findings at the end of the program.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend NASA and the QEM Network for this outstanding 
program, and I ask you to join me in expressing my most sincere 
congratulations and best wishes to Rodney K. Graham and Akilah L. 
Hugine from South Carolina for being selected for the 1999 NASA Summer 
High School Apprenticeship Research Program.

                          ____________________