[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 9, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H7930-H7931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1900
    HONORING LAUREN ARANA, NINTH GRADE STUDENT, HOOVER HIGH SCHOOL 
                               (GLENDALE)

  (Mr. SCHIFF asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great appreciation and 
admiration for Hoover High School student Lauren Arana, who saved her 
friend's life earlier this year. I am truly proud to have Lauren, who 
is now a 10th grade student from Glendale, as a constituent of mine.
  On May 14, Lauren received a text message from a friend of hers in 
Nebraska who said that she was going to commit suicide. Lauren did not 
hesitate for a second in responding to this call for help. She 
immediately took the initiative to try and contact her friend's mother, 
and when she was unsuccessful, she contacted her friend's school in 
Sioux City, Nebraska.
  Upon receiving Lauren's call, an assistant principal stepped into 
action

[[Page H7931]]

and went to the troubled student's home, where he found her with a 
knife to her neck and having already consumed antifreeze. Thankfully, 
due to Lauren's swift actions, the assistant principal was able to 
intervene in time to save her friend's life. This is a remarkable 
story, and demonstrates Lauren's extraordinary character.
  Youth suicide is a tragic problem plaguing our Nation. It is the 
third leading cause of death for 15-to 24-year-olds and the sixth 
leading cause for 5- to 14-year-olds. Lauren's heroic intervention is a 
perfect example of how anyone should react to such a call for help. We 
should all learn from this story which, thankfully, avoided a tragic 
ending.

                          ____________________