[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 53 (Wednesday, May 3, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E627]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN RECOGNITION OF MS. DONNA OSBORN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 3, 2000

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. Donna 
Osborn, who has worked in my office as an Albert Einstein fellow since 
July 1999. The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship 
Program offers elementary and secondary teachers with demonstrated 
excellence in teaching an opportunity to serve in the national public 
policy arena.
  Since Donna's arrival in my office, she has handled all education 
issues--elementary, secondary, and higher education--as well as 
children's issues. She researches legislation, updates me on changing 
information, and answers constituent mail on these topics. Donna has 
also been invaluable in other areas of my office. I can guarantee you 
that she now knows more about steel manufacturing and bulletproof vests 
than she ever imagined she would. She is the first person to volunteer 
for any task, and greets every visitor with a warm welcome. Her 
enthusiasm is contagious.
  Donna has not been a passive member of my staff, rather she has taken 
initiative and vigorously pursued projects that she believed would be 
valuable to my constituents. First, she organized and planned a grants 
workshop for all of the schools in Indiana's First Congressional 
District. Several Einstein Fellows and other individuals from 
Washington and Indiana provided educators with information on obtaining 
grants and other educational opportunities for students. She also 
reached out to our community, working with local businesses and 
organizations to include them in the event, and securing their place as 
stakeholders in the education of our children. This workshop was a very 
successful event, and would not have been possible without Donna's 
initiative and hard work.
  Donna was also integral to the implementation of the Missing Child 
Alert Plan in Indiana's First Congressional District. The Missing Child 
Alert Plan gives detailed information about a missing child and the 
suspected abductor utilizing a joint police-media effort to alert the 
public when a child has been abducted. Donna worked closely with my 
staff and local police departments and media outlets, to get this 
program off to a successful start. The Missing Child Alert Plan has 
been successful in recovering missing children in other areas of the 
country. Thanks to Donna's hard work, Northwest Indiana is one of only 
11 areas of the country with such a program. Activating the alert often 
receives considerable press attention, which increases the reach of the 
emergency announcement--enlisting hundreds of thousands of people in 
their search parties. Leads usually pour into police departments within 
hours. In addition to the Missing Child Alert Program, Donna saw to it 
that a picture of a missing child from the First Congressional District 
appears on each of my office envelopes. The first set features five 
children, one each from Gary and Hebron, and three from Hammond.
  The zeal that Donna brought to my office must be even more apparent 
to her classroom. Donna has taught mathematics in Lafayette School 
Corporation in Lafayette, Indiana since 1972, and is currently a 
mathematics teacher at Jefferson High School. She is a graduate from 
Anderson College, with a degree in mathematics. Her master's degree is 
from Purdue University. She was a Christa McAuliffe fellow in 1998 and 
a Tandy scholar in 1997. She won the Presidential Award for Excellence 
in Teaching of Mathematics in 1996. She taught school in Billericay, 
England on a Fulbright scholarship in 1979-1980; at the International 
School of Paris in Paris, France in 1991-1992; and at the Hong Kong 
International School in the summer of 1997.
  She served as the President of the Lafayette Education Association 
Board of the Indiana Council for the Teaching of Mathematics in 1996-
1997, and on the Mathematics Department Advisory Council (Purdue, West 
Lafayette). Donna has received the Golden Apple award from the 
Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, and was recognized as a Distinguished 
Alumnus by the Purdue University-School of Science.
  Donna has been a wonderful addition to my office, and I want to 
express my appreciation and gratitude for all of her hard work. She has 
touched the lives of countless young people throughout Indiana, the 
United States, and the world. Donna's passion for education and 
children, along with her indescribable enthusiasm, will surely be 
missed in my office.

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