[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 135 (Saturday, November 20, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN MEMORY AND TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM M. BURKE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Saturday, November 20, 2004

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is always difficult to say goodbye to 
dear friends, to those who have given so much and so unselfishly to 
their communities and to our nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory and tribute to Mr. William M. 
Burke, who passed away this past Sunday, November 14, 2004 after a 
difficult and courageous battle the last year and a half.
  Mr. Burke was Founder and President of the Washington Center for 
Internships and Academic Seminars, TWC, established in 1975 as a 
nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational organization that allows college 
students from all around the country and the world to have access to 
academic internships in Washington, D.C. I witnessed first hand the 
valuable services Mr. Burke and TWC provide to our country through the 
CORDOVA program they administer.
  Founded in 1995, the CORDOVA Congressional Internship Program 
promotes the educational development of Puerto Rico's college students, 
offering an incomparable 15-week semester experience as interns in 
Washington, D.C. and working primarily with congressional offices. I 
can proudly say that every semester. TWC provides my office with 
quality interns from the CORDOVA program.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Burke was an indefatigable leader, brimming with 
vision and ideals--a mentor, a teacher, a friend, and, most 
importantly, the source of inspiration to countless young leaders. The 
institution that he built and nurtured has earned a lasting and 
enduring place in experiential education.
  Mr. Burke tirelessly championed the involvement of members of 
Congress and the executive branch, corporate CEOs, foreign dignitaries, 
media luminaries, leaders in philanthropy, nonprofit leaders, state 
legislators, and college and university presidents.
  Mr. Speaker, his legacy of service to others and his valuable 
contributions in all sectors of society, with over 30,000 alumni of The 
Washington Center internship program who today are leaders in their own 
right, will be sorely missed but his legacy lives on.
  Mr. Burke was a native of Norwood, Massachusetts. He earned a 
Master's degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts, a 
Bachelor of Science in Management from American International College 
in Springfield, Massachusetts, and an Associate's degree in Accounting 
from Norwalk Community College, Norwalk, Connecticut. He also received 
an honorary Doctorate of Law from Richard Stockton State College.
  Bill always stayed close to the people he loved: his family, friends, 
and his community. In the past year and a half, he fought his terminal 
illness with the same courage and dignity that exemplified his life. He 
is survived by his wife, Sheila, and two children, Barry and Reavey.
  To Bill's family, colleagues, friends, and the thousands of former 
students who were touched by his life and example, I would like to 
extend my deepest sympathy in this trying time.
  Mr. Speaker I ask my colleagues to join me and all who had the 
privilege of knowing William M. Burke in paying tribute to him for 
serving his community, his state and his nation with the courage, 
generosity and dignity of great men of history.

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