[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 20, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E48]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING THE GENEROSITY OF DR. VICTOR GUZMAN

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 20, 2010

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. 
Victor Guzman, whose great generosity in creating a scholarship fund 
for the Palm Beach Community College Foundation will increase access to 
higher education for young people in the Belle Glade community.
  Dr. Guzman was motivated to establish the Lake Okeechobee Muck Rat 
Nation Scholarship Fund after reading an article last year in the Palm 
Beach Post. The article reported on the low graduation rates among 
black males in Belle Glade and detailed the low wages, high 
incarceration rates, insufficient job prospects, and lack of hope felt 
by so many young black men in the western Palm Beach County community. 
Living in the Glades for almost 60 years, Dr. Guzman realized that 
there were too many young people who did not have the economic means to 
go to school.
  The Lake Okeechobee Muck Rat Nation Scholarship Fund, named after 
those people who make their living working in the fields within the 
Everglades Agricultural Area, will enable more Belle Glade students to 
enroll in Palm Beach Community College. Dr. Guzman donated $100,000, 
most of his life savings, to establish the fund. Two $500 scholarships 
will be available for students who are accepted by the school, enrolled 
for at least 12 credits per term, live in Palm Beach County, attend the 
Belle Glade campus, and demonstrate financial need.
  Education has always been a priority for Dr. Victor Guzman, a 95-
year-old retired agricultural research scientist who worked for the 
University of Florida. A native of Peru, the University of Florida 
hired him in 1951 to help improve local farmers' crop production. He 
spent his career developing chemicals for weed control as well as 
virus-resistant strains of lettuce that thrive in the rich, organic 
soil surrounding Lake Okeechobee. These contributions have benefited 
the health and nutrition of the people in his community and around the 
world.
  Madam Speaker, Dr. Victor Guzman is an excellent role model for us 
all. He has invested in the future of his community by making higher 
education accessible to more young people. Generations of students in 
the Glades area will be forever indebted to him for his compassion and 
concern.

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