[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 130 (Friday, September 27, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1395]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING DR. LOURDES FERRER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BILL FOSTER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 27, 2013

  Mr. FOSTER. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to 
recognize Dr. Lourdes Ferrer, a nationally recognized scholar and 
researcher with an extraordinary life story.
  Growing up in a disadvantaged family in Puerto Rico, Dr. Ferrer came 
to value the importance of education at an early age. She knew that the 
way for her to get out of the cycle of poverty was through education.
  After completing her undergraduate degree in mathematics she moved to 
Guatemala, where she established schools, an orphanage, feeding centers 
and clinics. When she later moved to the United States to pursue the 
American dream, she overcame enormous financial, linguistic and 
cultural barriers and became a teacher. Despite all of these obstacles, 
she continuously prevailed and completed a doctoral degree in 
leadership and took a position to help schools implement improvement 
programs.
  Today, she works as an academic consultant for numerous school 
districts throughout the state of Illinois and the nation, designing 
programs to increase the academic achievement of all students and close 
the academic achievement gaps between diverse student populations. 
Notably, she has also started a $1,000 scholarship to help female 
Hispanic students who excel in mathematics, attend college and have the 
same opportunities that she had.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Dr. Ferrer 
for her remarkable dedication to helping our students and our 
community.

                          ____________________