[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 51 (Thursday, March 26, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      TRIBUTE TO NICOLAS JEFFRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PETE OLSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 26, 2015

  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the 
brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my 
Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening 
to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. 
They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger 
constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of 
being an active participant in the political process. Many of the 
students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am 
pleased to share them with my House colleagues.
  Nicolas Jeffress attends Dawson High School in Pearland, Texas. The 
essay topic is: In your opinion, why is it important to be involved in 
the political process?

       In 1776, we fought for our right to self-govern, and every 
     day men and women give their lives to protect and defend 
     those rights. But now we are facing a new threat to our 
     independence, apathy. Every day people willingly give up 
     their right to govern and wonder why their community is not 
     reaching its potential. Just like in other parts of life 
     though, building a great community takes work.
       During my sophomore year, many students felt the pressure 
     of both rigorous course loads and class rank competition, and 
     some resorted to cheating. This situation was complicated by 
     the fact that the penalties for cheating were not 
     consistently enforced and when they were enforced, they were 
     light relative to the potential gain. As I talked to more 
     students and teachers, I became concerned that Dawson had a 
     culture of academic dishonesty, much like professional 
     cycling, where some felt cheating was necessary just to keep 
     up. I could not let this be my school's culture.
       I started working on how to address this problem by talking 
     to other students. Although many were frustrated with the 
     dishonesty, they did not think anything could be done to fix 
     it. Fortunately, thirty students did care! When we met, we 
     talked not only about the problem but how we could change it. 
     Over the next three weeks we developed specific proposals 
     around testing procedures, penalties and education. We took 
     these proposals forward to our principal and even 
     demonstrated how students were cheating using tools like 
     camera pens. We also spoke to the Pearland ISD school board 
     about our work at Dawson and provided them the proposals as 
     well. Although the early conversations were sometimes 
     difficult, we started to have an impact.
       Over the summer between my sophomore and junior year, 
     Pearland ISD wrote a new honor code that went into place at 
     both Dawson and Pearland High Schools. As I read through the 
     honor code during packet pick-up, I could see many of our 
     recommendations almost verbatim. I thought of Yoda, ``Do or 
     do not. There is no try''; I'm glad I decided to do. I got 
     involved in my local community and changed my school.
       As I become an adult, the political process will allow me 
     to become even more involved in my community. During my Dad's 
     school board campaign, I had the opportunity to meet many 
     great public servants. We are so fortunate to have so many 
     great people working hard on our community. However, with 
     only 5% of people choosing to vote in local elections, I 
     doubt we are reaching our full potential. We need more people 
     willing to be involved, developing solutions to problems, 
     bringing new ideas. Communities form districts, which form 
     states, which make up a nation; all political movements start 
     at grass root local communities and cascade to the national 
     government. I certainly intend to do my part to honor the 
     sacrifices so many have made to build the country we have 
     today.

                          ____________________