[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 29, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E549]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRATULATING LIFE-SAVER SHAUN ANDERSON OF DIVERSITY IN AQUATICS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 29, 2011

  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate a 
young man of remarkable achievement. Shaun Anderson is co-founder and 
President of Diversity in Aquatics Inc., a visionary network that works 
to save lives through global efforts to reduce the incidence of 
drowning.
  But that's not all. Shaun is a consultant to USA Swimming, a college 
faculty member, a former coach as well as a collegiate swimmer and 
track team member at his alma mater, Pennsylvania State University. He 
began swimming competitively at age four.
  Citing these accomplishments and more, Penn State has named him one 
of 12 alumni under the age of 35 to receive the 2011 Penn State 
University Alumni Achievement Award. He will be honored on April 8.
  Let me tell my colleagues a little more about this amazing young man. 
His brainchild, Diversity in Aquatics, boasts members across a 
worldwide spectrum including Olympians, coaches, elected officials and 
educators. The organization is literally a life saver. It helps spread 
the word about water safety through advocacy, educational programs, and 
action, holding regional water safety clinics, and connecting 
individuals and groups through their website.
  I was pleased to provide a welcoming video for the Diversity in 
Aquatics Network, which has been active in support of swimming and 
water safety in Philadelphia's communities of color. The Network has 
spotlighted the work of Jim Ellis, who developed Philadelphia's first 
all-African American swimming team and was the subject of the biopic 
``Pride.''
  In 2009, USA Swimming named Shaun a diversity consultant, giving him 
responsibility for developing programs for under-served communities 
throughout the country. He has become a global spokesperson on the 
issue of diversity in swimming and aquatic safety. For example, he was 
interviewed and appeared in a Newsweek article in September 2010 about 
efforts to lower the rate of drowning among African American children.
  Shaun Anderson devotes himself to a vital but often overlooked cause. 
It is a sad fact that worldwide, 388,000 people a year--an average of 
more than 1,000 a day--are known to perish by drowning, although this 
data may dramatically understate the problem. In our nation and 
overseas, a disproportionate number of drowning victims, and victims of 
non-fatal injuries from submersion, are children from communities of 
color and from low-income backgrounds. The reasons are many, but the 
``cure'' is obvious: teach youngsters how to swim, use safety 
techniques and respect the perils of water.
  I. pursuit of this goal, Shaun Anderson has assisted with clinics in 
Brazil, the British Virgin Islands, the Philippines and elsewhere. Most 
recently he helped the Bahamian Ministry of Education and International 
Olympic Committee in implementing a nationwide learn to swim program 
for the Bahamas.
  Anderson also serves as a faculty member in the Department of Health, 
Physical Education and Exercise Science at Norfolk State University. At 
Penn State he was a varsity athlete in two sports: three years on the 
track team and a four-year member of the swim team. In addition to his 
degree in Kinesiology from Penn State, he holds an M.B.A. from 
California State University--Long Beach.
  It is no wonder that Shaun Anderson has been widely recognized and 
honored for his ``diversity'' of achievements. He is a multi-tasking 
role model and advocate who carries a life-saving message and the 
imperative of diversity into regions and disciplines never before 
imagined. Across our nation, young people of all races and communities 
are healthier, better swimmers--and very much afloat in life--thanks to 
a talented, tireless young man named Shaun Anderson.

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