[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 51 (Thursday, March 23, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S1967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Tribute to Ivory Gerhardt Cyrus

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, as my colleagues know, I have been 
coming to the floor week after week to recognize an Alaskan who has 
made a difference in his or her community. As I have said repeatedly--I 
am a little biased, of course--I have the honor of living in the most 
beautiful State in the country, but it is our people who truly make it 
special. They are resilient, kind, and giving. And it is the next 
generation that is going to continue to make my State the best place in 
the world to live.
  This week I would like to introduce my colleagues to 18-year-old 
Ivory Gerhardt Cyrus, this week's Alaskan of the Week. Ivory lives in 
Kiana, a beautiful, close-knit Inupiat village of less than 400 people 
on the banks of the Kobuk River in Northwest Alaska. Like many villages 
in Alaska, there are no roads in and out. People travel to Kotzebue, 
which is the closest hub city--it is not very much of a city but a big 
village--about 40 miles away by plane or snow machine, boat, or 
sometimes dog team. That is where Ivory was raised--in Kiana--and 
where, against many odds, she has strived.
  Ivory was born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which made 
getting through school a challenge. She was at times misunderstood, at 
times bullied, and many didn't know how to deal with her properly.
  About 120 kids each year are diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum 
disorder in Alaska. When she was in middle school, Ivory began 
committing herself to helping them by speaking out about her own 
experiences and by advocating the way students with behavioral issues 
are treated in school. She was an advocate for them.
  Now she is an honor roll high school senior, graduating this spring, 
and along the way, she has become a State of Alaska trainer for fetal 
alcohol spectrum disorder. She gave a presentation at an international 
conference recently on disability and diversity, and she was named one 
of five recipients of the 27th annual Women of Achievement and Youth 
Awards in Alaska.
  This is what I find most impressive about Ivory: She is passing a 
message of hope and service on to her peers. She started a group, 
encouraging the members of the group to do one positive thing each day. 
The name of the group is appropriately entitled ``One Positive Thing,'' 
or ``OPT.'' That message has spread throughout her community, and now 
villages in Kiana are remembering to do one positive thing each day for 
themselves, their families, and their community. Last year, she held 
her first OPT conference in Kiana for youth all across the region. This 
year, that conference--the next OPT conference, One Positive Thing--
will be held on April 7 and 8.
  Ivory is an exceptional young woman. She is going to go on to do 
exceptional things. Next fall, she plans on attending the University of 
Alaska Anchorage where she plans to continue to do one positive thing 
each day and will bring that positive attitude to the students at UAA. 
She is going to continue to encourage others to do that as well.
  I congratulate her for all of her accomplishments, for being our 
Alaskan of the Week, and congratulations to her parents, Jean and Tom, 
for the wonderful job they have done in raising this exceptional young 
lady.
  Ivory gives us all hope for the future.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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