[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 168 (Monday, November 16, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE LIFE OF NOHEMI GONZALEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GRACE F. NAPOLITANO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 16, 2015

  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise to 
honor the life of Nohemi ``Mimi'' Gonzalez, a 23-year-old senior at 
California State University, Long Beach, who was killed in the 
senseless terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday, November 13, 2015. 
Nohemi, a native of the San Gabriel Valley, was in the Petit Cambodge 
restaurant with another Long Beach State student when she was fatally 
shot by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS. Nohemi was in 
Paris studying at the Strate College of Design during a semester abroad 
program.
  A proud independent and energetic first-generation Mexican-American, 
Nohemi was born on October 19, 1992, in Whittier, where she grew up. 
She graduated early from Whittier High School and became a first-
generation college student. Gonzalez was studying Industrial Design, 
paying her way through school with help from an on-campus job in the 
school's design shop. Nohemi was full of life. Her classmates called 
her a firecracker and a rabbit--hopping around the Cal State Long Beach 
campus's design school eager to help anyone who needed it. She loved 
life and was eager to learn and partake in our American dream.
  Nohemi is survived by her mother, Beatrice and step-father, Jose 
Hernandez, residents of El Monte. Beatrice wanted her daughter to be 
remembered as a young Latina who worked hard to get ahead. I wish to 
express my sincere sympathy to her parents as well as her extended 
family, friends, and the entire Cal State Long Beach community, who 
have all been devastated by the loss of one so loved. I ask that all of 
my colleagues join me to honor the life of Nohemi Gonzalez and remember 
all those who lost their lives in Paris.

                          ____________________