[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 171 (Saturday, November 22, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO ROBINSON HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL KEVIN McCARTHY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM DAVIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 21, 2003

  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Robinson High 
School Principal Kevin McCarthy, who tragically passed away this week 
at the age of 39. Kevin's dedication to excellence and passion for 
serving his students, faculty and Robinson High School family will be 
sorely missed.
  After earning two masters degrees and a doctorate, Kevin chose to 
become a science teacher in 1989. In 1997, he came to Tampa to serve as 
the science department head at Blake High School.
  Kevin's ambition, enthusiasm and record of success served him well in 
the Hillsborough County School District. He progressed from department 
head to assistant principal for student affairs at Wharton High School 
and assistant principal for curriculum at King High School before he 
became principal at Robinson.
  Along the way, he touched the lives of countless students, faculty 
and parents and left his mark on the schools in which he served. At 
Robinson, with his love of science, he helped create the MacDill 
Aeronautical Academy, which gives students the chance to engage in 
hands-on aerospace training and offers internship opportunities at 
MacDill Air Force Base.
  When gunshots at Rembrant Garden apartments, adjacent to Robinson's 
campus, threatened the safety of students, Kevin spearheaded community 
meetings including local law enforcement and Tampa housing officials to 
address the problem. Just three months later, a plan was in place to 
tear down Rembrant apartments to make way for a new, safer complex.
  The Robinson family, however, will most likely remember Kevin's 
leadership in helping the campus come to grips with the death of Lance 
Cpl. Andrew Aviles, a Robinson High School graduate who was killed in 
Iraq.
  Kevin McCarthy was what every school district in America needs--a 
rising star who sets high expectations for students and faculty and has 
the talent to help them to meet those goals. All of us who got to know 
him and work with him were and continue to be inspired by his 
integrity, energy and intense focus on his students. Kevin was one-of-
a-kind and will undoubtably influence countless others to follow his 
example in serving the community in many ways.
  On behalf of the Tampa Bay community, I would like to extend my 
deepest sympathies to his family.

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