[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 108 (Friday, June 23, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING KAYLA MICHELLE RIGGS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 23, 2017

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
tenacious young woman, Kayla Michelle Riggs. Kayla has shown what can 
be done through hard work, setting goals, and aiming high.
  Kayla Michelle Riggs was born on May 16, 1992 in Vicksburg, 
Mississippi to Jeffrey and Sherry Riggs. She attended her Elementary, 
Junior High School and High School in the Vicksburg/Warren School 
District.
  Kayla graduated from Vicksburg High School in 2010 and went on to 
attend Northwest Community College in Oxford, MS for one year. She 
transferred to the University of Mississippi in 2011 and Graduated with 
a Bachelor of Science in the field of Criminal Justice in 2014.
  In 2014, Kayla started her criminal justice career with the 
Mississippi Gaming Commission and started to work on her Master's 
Degree from Delta State University. In April 2016 she resigned from the 
Mississippi Gaming Commission to work on her Master's Degree.
  In July of 2016, Kayla join the United States Army in the military 
occupation skill of Infantry and was placed in the delayed entry 
program until the United States Army could set a date for the first 
integrated class of women in the infantry military occupational 
specialty. In December of 2016, she finished her Masters Work in the 
field of Criminology and Social Science.
  On January 30, 2017, Kayla reported to the United States Army 
reception station on Sandhill at Fort Benning, Georgia. Then on 
February 2017, she started in the first enlisted integrated female 
infantry basic training and advanced individual training class. She 
received the Infantry Blue Cord on May 18 and graduated on May 19, 
2017.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Kayla 
Michelle Riggs for being a part of a historic class, and her dedication 
to serving our great Country and strong desire to achieve.