[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 56 (Tuesday, April 23, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONGRATULATING THE TELACU EDUCATION FOUNDATION ON THEIR 30TH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 23, 2013

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
TELACU Education Foundation, a non-profit organization based in my 40th 
Congressional District, on the celebration of their 30th anniversary.
  TELACU, which stands for The East Los Angeles Community Union, is a 
pioneer in empowering and revitalizing communities in our great state 
of California and throughout our nation. In response to crisis-level 
dropout rates for Latino students in college, TELACU created the TELACU 
Education Foundation 25 years ago. Working in partnership with a vast 
network of colleges, universities, corporations and individuals, the 
TELACU Education Foundation has awarded millions of dollars in 
scholarships to thousands of deserving students.
  As the centerpiece of the foundation, the TELACU Scholarship Program 
annually provides scholarships to 500 college and graduate students who 
are the first in their families to access higher education. Realizing 
that financial resources alone cannot fully meet these students' needs, 
the program provides the scholars with comprehensive academic and 
career guidance to ensure that all of them graduate.
  The foundation also serves an additional 1,600 middle and high school 
students, nursing school students, and veterans. Through comprehensive 
educational programs, these scholars are not only inspired to pursue 
higher education, but are also equipped to meet the rigorous 
expectations of college. As a result, 100 percent of TELACU's high 
school students earn their high school diploma and continue on to 
pursue post-secondary education and 100 percent of the TELACU college 
students graduate.
  TELACU scholars are recruited from the poorest neighborhoods of 
Southern California, Chicago, Texas, and New York. In many of these 
neighborhoods, young African Americans and Latinos are more likely to 
have been arrested by their 18th birthday than to graduate high school. 
Yet TELACU scholars have proven year after year--no matter where you 
were born, the color of your skin, or what language you speak at home--
if you study and work hard, you can become anything you want to be in 
our great United States of America.
  And hard work and study are exactly what TELACU scholars do. Scholars 
like Irma Gorrocino have utilized the benefits of the TELACU Education 
Foundation scholarship and the resources provided. She has served on 
the dean's list for two consecutive semesters while managing to work 
full-time and tending to the needs of her father, who was recently 
diagnosed with multiple myeloma. She is also an outstanding intern in 
my district office in California.
  Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of the TELACU Education Foundation's 
30th Anniversary, I ask my colleagues to please join me in recognizing 
David and Priscilla Lizarraga for their exemplary leadership and 
commendable efforts to empower our young people and our communities, 
and wish them and the TELACU Education Foundation many years of 
continued success ahead. I also thank Irma and all of the TELACU 
scholars for their hard work and contributions to our community.

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