[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 87 (Friday, June 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1340-E1341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       A TRIBUTE TO JOYCE GAINES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 18, 1999

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute 
to Joyce Gaines and her family, from Vallejo, California in my 
congressional district. Joyce is an amazing mother who believes higher 
education is a necessity for her children. In order to pay for the 
enormous expense of her daughter Tieaesha's college education, she 
worked 3 jobs and commuted 200 miles a day, despite the chronic pain of 
five ruptured disks in her back from a previous work related injury. 
Due to her mother's tremendous sacrifices, Tieaesha is the first in her 
family to receive a college education, with a degree in sociology from 
Grambling State University. Congratulations to Joyce and Tieaesha 
Gaines for all your accomplishments.
  I have the highest respect for this single mother of four, who put 
the needs of her daughter and her education ahead of her own. She is a 
role model for her children and for young people everywhere. It is 
unfortunate, however, that she had to make such tremendous sacrifices 
just to pay the price of her child's education. We must do more to make 
higher education accessible and affordable to all who choose it.
  I am not the only one to praise this amazing woman. President Clinton 
paid tribute to Joyce Gaines in his commencement speech at Grambling 
State University in Louisiana. I am submitting the following article 
which appeared in the Vallejo Times-Herald so all of my colleagues can 
read this inspiring story.

             [From the Vallejo Times-Herald, June 3, 1999]

                          Presidential Praise

                           (By Mary M. Leahy)

       For five years, Tieaesha Gaines of Vallejo prayed daily 
     that she and her mother would be recognized at her college 
     graduation for the sacrifices they'd made.
       Gaines had no idea God would use the leader of the Free 
     World to answer her.
       At her graduation from Grambling State University in 
     Louisiana last week, President Clinton, in a commencement 
     address, asked 22-year-old Gaines to stand. He then acclaimed 
     her as ``a tribute to her mother's love and sacrifice.''
       ``Listen to this,'' Clinton told the crowd. ``Even through 
     the pain of five ruptured disks in her back, Joyce Gaines 
     (Tieaesha's mother) worked three jobs and commuted 200 miles 
     a day to put her daughter, Tieaesha, through Grambling.''
       Clinton, who used the address to promote a broader pro-
     family agenda, continued, ``Stories like this remind us what 
     people can achieve when they set their minds to it, but they 
     also remind us of how hard it can be to raise a child right, 
     especially today in our very busy society with its very 
     demanding economy.''
       Tieaesha was videotaping the president from the second row 
     of graduates when she heard him say her name.
       ``I was thinking, `That's me! That's me!' '' she said. ``I 
     was astonished, amazed. I didn't even know he knew who I was. 
     When he said `five ruptured disks' I knew automatically, 
     `That's my mom.' When he pointed at me, I got so excited, I 
     jumped up and screamed, `I love you Mom.' I guess I got in 
     the way of the camera because someone saw it on CNN.''
       Vallejoan Joyce Gaines was sitting in the stands surrounded 
     by family when she heard Clinton mention her.
       ``Chills went up and down my spine.'' she said. ``It was so 
     phenomenal having my name mentioned by the President of the 
     United States.''
       Joyce Gaines had been interviewed three days earlier by a 
     Grambling official, who had heard about the sacrifices she 
     made for her daughter. Although she was told the president 
     might use the information in his speech, she was also told 
     many other parents were interviewed. She put it out of her 
     mind. Surely someone else would be chosen, she thought.
       ``Exciting things like that never happen to me,'' she said. 
     ``I'm a quiet person who's usually in the background. I 
     didn't tell my daughter because I didn't want her to be 
     disappointed when he didn't mention me.''
       Joyce Gaines is a single mother of four who endured much to 
     send Tieaesha to Grambling. Tieaesha is the first in her 
     family to get a college education.
       Twenty years ago, Joyce Gaines injured her neck and back 
     while pulling cable lines for PG&E. Despite permanent spinal 
     problems, she gave up part of her disability benefits so she 
     could work around the clock and pay Tieaesha's college 
     expenses.
       One of Joyce's three jobs required driving 200 miles a day 
     to the outskirts of Sacramento and back. She worked the 
     graveyard shift at a residence facility for Alzheimer's 
     patients. Another job included cleaning up after exotic 
     birds.
       ``There were a lot of nights I sat up spraying anesthetic 
     spray on my neck to numb the pain. I took anti-inflammatory 
     medication and pain pills. I gave up buying clothes for 
     myself to send her money.'' she recalled.
       When Joyce and Tieaesha talk about it, they inevitably end 
     up crying.
       ``I knew I'd been through a lot and my mother had been 
     through a lot'', Tieaesha said. ``When you graduate, you get 
     cards and the dinner and everybody says you did a great job. 
     But nobody really recognizes the nights you stayed up all 
     night typing papers or the nights you couldn't eat because 
     you were waiting on the Western Union to come through.
       ``Grambling barely has a post office,'' Tieaesha said. ``So 
     if you miss getting the mail Friday, you miss eating on the 
     weekend. You go through so much being away from your family, 
     hoping everybody's thinking about you as much as you're 
     thinking about them.''

[[Page E1341]]

       For Joyce Gaines, just seeing Clinton was ``a dream come 
     true,'' let alone becoming the recipient of his praise.
       ``It was like a mirage having the President there. I was so 
     excited just to be in his presence. He's such a fantastic 
     President, the best the United States has ever had. He's done 
     so much for the country,'' Joyce said.
       If Clinton's speech wasn't divinely inspired, Tieaesha 
     doesn't know what is.
       ``Sometimes you pray and pray and wonder, `Is this a sign 
     or is that a sign?' '' Tieaesha said.
       ``But that was a clear, Tieaesha Gaines, here you go. Do 
     what you were put here, what you were destined to do,'' said 
     Tieaesha, who plans to one day open the home for abused 
     children she's dreamed of since age 11.
       ``You can be something, no matter where you come from,'' 
     she said.

     

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