[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4097-S4098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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               FIRST PLACE ESSAY WINNER ADRIENNE MAXWELL

 Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge the 
achievements of an outstanding student from Somers, Montana. Each year 
the American Association of University Women--Montana sponsors an essay 
contest for high school students in grades 10-12. The subject of this 
essay contest is ``Women in Montana.'' Students are to research and 
write about Montana women who have contributed to the quality of life 
of this wonderful State.
  This year's top essay was written by Adrienne Maxwell, an outstanding 
young woman attending Flathead High School. Her essay was chosen the 
best of all those in Montana and received first place in the contest. 
She writes about her mother, an immigrant who is no stranger to 
sacrifice and struggles, but believes through hard work comes triumph. 
Her essay tells the story of a woman with the true spirit, drive, and 
determination to achieve her goals while making a home for her family 
in a new land and never failing to give generously back to her 
community.
  I am pleased to acknowledge, on behalf of all Montanans, Adrienne 
Maxwell's achievement and ask that her essay ``Katherine Maxwell: A 
Montana Immigrant'' be printed in the Record.

                 Katherine Maxwell: A Montana Immigrant

                         (By Adrienne Maxwell)

       The first women to come to Montana were often immigrants 
     from other lands. They left their homes, knowing they would 
     probably never again see the friends and relatives they left 
     behind. Once here, they worked hard every day, to make a good 
     life for their families. My mother, Katherine Maxwell, is an 
     immigrant as well, though she arrived in Montana in 1983 and 
     not 1883. She did not face life on the frontier, but has 
     shown some of the same qualities of hard work and 
     determination to succeed shown by early Montana women.
       As a child in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, Katherine developed 
     a strong work ethic at a young age with the encouragement of 
     her strict, yet supportive parents. The oldest of four 
     children, she was expected to always do her best at school 
     and to do her chores well, and with a good attitude. Her dad 
     was the manager of Carey's department store. In fact, Carey's 
     was where Katherine began working, at age twelve, doing small 
     jobs in the back warehouse. As soon as she reached the legal 
     age of fifteen, she worked during school vacations as a shop 
     assistant. As the ``boss' daughter'', she had to be a model 
     worker.
       She studied at Victoria University in Wellington, New 
     Zealand's capital city. She majored in History, and minored 
     in English, then obtained a law degree. Part-time jobs in 
     college included working as a nurse's aid in a geriatric 
     hospital, test-tube cleaner in the biochemistry department 
     (``grosser than the hospital''), receptionist in a doctor's 
     office, waitress, and law clerk. Through her hard work, she 
     managed to graduate debt-free. She then worked in the legal 
     department of a government department, and later as an 
     associate attorney with the old established law firm of Lane, 
     Neave, and Co., in Christchurch. She didn't know before she 
     attempted it whether or not she would be a good trial lawyer, 
     but thrown in the proverbial deep end, she swam!
       However, as a child she had had another dream, a dream of 
     traveling the world. So she saved every penny and made plans 
     for her overseas trip. As a final sacrifice to the travel 
     fund, she sold her first and beloved car, the elephant-
     colored and shaped ``Horton'', a 1957 Wolsely.
       Katherine globe-trotted for about four years, picking up 
     odd jobs every now and then, to pay for her next plane 
     ticket. Finally it was time for her to settle down and get 
     serious about a career. Those plans were derailed when, 
     through an odd set of circumstances, involving at least three 
     continents, she fell in love with and married my father, and 
     ended up in Kalispell, Montana, in a little house and their 
     first child, me, was born.
       Although her life differed markedly from that of a pioneer 
     woman (she spoke English, and had the necessities of life) 
     being a newcomer and far from friends and family, with a new 
     baby to care for was lonely and difficult at first. She 
     adapted, and like those early women, got to work, making a 
     home for her family and becoming part of her community.
       Although her first, and most important, Montana job was to 
     raise her children, Katherine knew she wanted to help people 
     outside her small family. She believed becoming a lawyer was 
     impossible, as her law degree was not from an ``American Bar 
     Association Approved'' law school. When she heard Montana 
     Inter Country Adoption was looking for a part-time social 
     worker, she thought she could do the job and applied for it. 
     Traveling all over Western Montana, she visited the homes of 
     hopeful adoptive parents, and assessed whether or not this 
     would be a suitable home for a child from overseas who needed 
     a loving family. She loved being a part of creating families, 
     bringing together parents and children. When the agency 
     closed she was forced to think of a new career.
       As she began to consider a career in law once again, as a 
     paralegal, she realized the

[[Page S4098]]

     fact that she couldn't use a computer or type might be a 
     problem so she went back to school and learned how. When she 
     thought she was qualified, applied for a paralegal position 
     at Warden, Christiansen, Johnson and Berg, the oldest, and 
     largest, law firm in Northwest Montana.
       She enjoyed working as a paralegal, but missed the 
     responsibility of having her own clients. With the 
     encouragement of her employers, she petitioned the Supreme 
     Court for the opportunity to take the bar exam. Such 
     petitions are rarely successful, and she was shocked when 
     hers was. The review course she took during a sweltering 
     Montana summer, was the hardest work she had ever done. 
     Leaving her family to live in her ``little cell'' of a dorm 
     room was hardly an ideal way to spend June and July. Yet she 
     hoped that if she studied night and day, she could reach her 
     goal. After the three day test was over, she felt 
     discouraged. She could just tell that, despite her efforts, 
     it was too much to cram four years of law school into six 
     weeks. Katherine drove home, and was prepared to take the 
     exam again in a few months' time.
       Then, in early September, the letter came. To her amazement 
     she had passed the impossible exam and she was a lawyer 
     again.
       The work didn't stop there. To this day, she continues to 
     get to the office early, and stay late if necessary, working 
     her hardest to make sure her clients get the justice they 
     deserve. Her life story so far may not be one of enduring the 
     rigors of a life in a newly settled land, but she has shown 
     the same qualities: having the drive inside of her, to get up 
     each day, work her hardest, and provide for her family. The 
     true spirit shared by all Montana women has always been that 
     although there will be struggles, through hard work, you will 
     triumph. Katherine Maxwell is the perfect example of this 
     spirit.

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