[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 4, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1123]]
            HONORING WASHINGTON HEIGHTS' DENISE DE LA NUECES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 4, 2003

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Ms. Denise De La Nueces, who 
last month graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University's 
undergraduate program.
  A first generation daughter of Dominican immigrants, this remarkable 
young woman overcame numerous challenges, including poverty and a 
stuttering habit, to become the first Latina salutatorian in the 
College's 250-year history.
  Born and raised in Washington Heights, Ms. De La Nueces attended the 
neighborhood parochial school of St. Rose of Lima before earning 
valedictorian honors at Cathedral High School. She entered Columbia in 
1999 as one of the first recipients of The New York Times College 
Scholarship, a program founded to assist promising service-oriented 
students who have faced financial and other obstacles.
  Although highly focused on excelling academically in biology, Ms. De 
La Nueces carefully balanced her studies with an equally strong 
commitment to her campus and neighborhood community. She was an active 
member of cultural organizations, working with students and alumni to 
develop and maintain the school's Latino mentoring program. She found 
time to step outside Columbia's walls to volunteer with Project HEALTH, 
a community-based program that works with physicians, educators, 
families and local leaders to design and implement curricula that 
empowers children to take control of their health.
  She also found time to tutor at the Double Discovery Center (DDC), a 
Columbia-based educational nonprofit that works with students from low-
income and historically disadvantaged backgrounds. A DDC alumnus 
herself, Ms. De La Nueces will spend the summer working there before 
getting her pediatrics career off to a good start at Harvard Medical 
School this fall.
  Ms. De La Nueces' achievements are exceptional, but she is by no 
means a statistical fluke. Although far too many children of low-income 
and historically disadvantaged backgrounds are failing to reach their 
potential in our educational system, each May brings forth a new 
generation of graduates that under the radar of the media have broken 
barriers and shattered stereotypes to earn degrees. The challenge for 
these and other graduates is not only to blaze new paths with their 
individual success, but also to reach back to their alma maters and 
provide support within these difficult educational institutions.

  In her remarks on graduation day, Ms. De Las Nueces thanked her 
diverse group of mentors for providing this support. She also thanked 
them for helping her find a sense of community in the midst of so many 
differences. ``In them, I have found the desire to improve the world 
community by looking beyond themselves,'' the Columbia Daily Spectator 
reported. ``Let us strive to reach beyond ourselves, beyond the small 
spheres of our individual confines.''
  Ms. De La Nueces' experience is an example of how inclusion and 
diversity can provide opportunities not only for minority students to 
excel, but also for all members of the student body to be enriched. An 
example of how leaders and mentors can be found and developed in all 
communities, if we are willing to invest in their search.

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