[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 45 (Friday, April 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 BLINDNESS DOES NOT PREVENT CHRISTIAN PEREZ FROM BECOMING SPELLING BEE 
                      CHAMPION OF IMPERIAL VALLEY!

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                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 14, 2005

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the achievement of Christian 
Perez, an eighth grade student at Bill E. Young Middle School in 
Calipatria, a small city in Imperial County, California.
  Christian, who is 14, recently participated in the first ever 
regional Scripps Howard Spelling Bee in Imperial County. As most are 
aware, the winner of the regional Scripps Howard Spelling Bee moves on 
to the nationals held here in Washington, D.C. to face students from 
across the country.
  To prepare for the Spelling Bee, contestants, like Christian, 
dedicate a large portion of their young lives to the Herculean task of 
memorizing and learning thousands of words, which in itself is worthy 
of Congressional recognition.
  Despite stiff competition and some very tense moments, Christian won 
the regional Spelling Bee upon correctly spelling ``synapse.'' The 170 
people who were watching the Spelling Bee at the Southwest Performing 
Arts Theater in EI Centro gave Christian a standing ovation.
  When asked about the competition, Christian said, ``she felt relieved 
as soon as the competition was over and . . . her only dilemma might be 
which sister to take to nationals in early June.''
  Christian's story, however, doesn't end there. Unlike other 
contestants, who had a wide assortment of dictionaries and word lists 
to review, Christian's preparation was a little more arduous, as all of 
her study materials had to be in Braille. Fortunately, Christian did 
not let lack of sight stand in her way of becoming the spelling 
champion of Imperial County!

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