[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 107 (Friday, July 18, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1533]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING SHELLY AGARWAL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 18, 2003

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Shelly Agarwal, a 
fine young woman and outstanding student from my congressional district 
in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
  Shelly recently earned a perfect score of 36 on her ACT college 
entrance exam. She was one of only two students in Florida, and 51 
nationwide, who answered each of the 215 test questions correctly when 
she took the test. The national average ACT score is 20.8.
  Shelly became the first student from Berkeley Preparatory School in 
Tampa to receive a perfect score on the ACT. She said she was 
``surprised'' by her score and ``didn't expect anything that high.'' 
However, I think she was being modest because she also scored 1580 out 
of a possible 1600 on her SAT college placement test.
  It is clear that Shelly is a bright and motivated young woman. Unlike 
many of her peers who are taking the summer months off, she is spending 
them at the University of Chicago studying molecular biology. She is 
one of only a half dozen high school students who are conducting 
research alongside undergraduate and graduate students.
  Mr. Speaker, Shelly also owes much of her success to her parents, 
Sudhir and Usha, who are doctors in one of the counties in my district, 
and to her brother Siddhartha, who will be a sophomore at Harvard this 
fall. They encouraged Shelly to excel in school and taught her the 
importance of getting a good education. I want to commend them for 
providing the support that all students should be as fortunate to have 
and congratulate Shelly on her tremendous accomplishments. I am certain 
that she will succeed in her future educational and professional 
endeavors.

                          ____________________