[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 112 (Thursday, June 29, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H5301-H5302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      AMERICA: LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, one thing that we can all 
agree on is that America is the land of opportunity. Our beautiful 
country has remarkable stories about those young and old, who, through 
adversity, have gone on to achieve great things. Those human stories 
are often the best way for us to demonstrate why our country is so 
special. I would like to share two stories with you this morning.
  Emily Torchiana recently visited my office while she was here in 
Washington, D.C., after being chosen for a Jefferson Award for 
community service. Just last week, she was also awarded the Jacqueline 
Kennedy Onassis Award for Public Service. Emily is from Collegeville, 
in my congressional district, and, after her own experience with severe 
cyberbullying led to a suicide attempt, she began telling her story.
  Emily found people would reach out to her after each speech to share 
their own experiences and thank her for being so open with her journey. 
She is now the founder of a nonprofit focused on mental health 
advocacy, awareness, and services.
  Emily's nonprofit supports mental health workshops in schools as well 
as workshops for parents and teachers so adults can learn how to 
support children and young adults suffering from mental illness. The 
mission statement of Emily's nonprofit includes working to reduce the 
stigma surrounding mental health, something I believe is a critical 
aspect for us all as we continue to develop and advance solutions for 
those facing mental illness.
  Quoting from Emily's nonprofit website, she writes: ``My hope is that 
the more people who will open up about their struggles, the more others 
will feel comfortable reaching out for help. . . . Unlike physical 
illnesses, these mental illnesses are not seen, but that does not mean 
they are not there. I hope this will give us all the opportunity to 
walk briefly in the shoes of the fellow human beings we come across 
every day.''
  Emily's work is an inspiration to us all.
  Congratulations, Emily, for being recognized for your outstanding 
service to communities across our country, and we wish you the best of 
luck with your career.
  Ammar Al-Rubaiay is another young adult who has an inspiring and 
remarkable story. A reporter in my congressional district recently 
shared Ammar's story with me, and I want to take a moment to share a 
story about opportunity, hard work, and a young man fulfilling his 
dreams.
  A native of Baghdad, Iraq, Ammar became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 
2015. He was participating in a youth exchange program that transferred 
him to West Vincent Township, in Pennsylvania's Sixth Congressional 
District, where he attended Owen J. Roberts High School and ultimately 
attended Westtown School.
  Ammar came face to face with al-Qaida before his move. In a column in 
2009, journalist Michael Rellahan remembered reading Ammar's college 
essay.
  Mr. Rellahan wrote: ``In striking detail, Ammar recalled the day in 
June 2007 when he sat in his classroom at the Gifted Students School in 
his native Baghdad and a teacher came in to announce simply that: `They 
are here--al-Qaida.''
  Ammar wrote in his journal: ``At that time, I felt like I was a few 
minutes away from death, getting closer

[[Page H5302]]

every second. I was scared, but not because I thought that I was going 
to die. I was scared because I was thinking about what might happen to 
my family when they heard that I got killed. My dad always told me, 
`Don't go to school; your life is more important than your education,' 
but I never listened, and I always argued with him because I believe 
that my education was important enough to take the risky chance.''
  The gunman entered the room, looked around, and went away. They stole 
some cars, but left everyone alive. Ammar recalled: ``Those seconds 
felt like years; they were the longest seconds in my life.''
  Here is the great part of the story: It is not a story; it is real 
life. Ammar was granted political asylum, and in 2013, he graduated 
from Bard College and has since completed medical school, moving on to 
a career to help others and improve their healthy lives.
  We should be proud of him and the thousands of other young men and 
young women every day who are fighting through adversity to achieve, 
who will go on to make this a greater country than it already is; and 
it is a reminder to all of us in what is, at times, a very divisive 
political environment that the reason that we do these jobs is to make 
sure that we are providing opportunity for the next generation, and it 
is they who will make our country an even greater place. It is their 
achievements that are the cornerstone of our country and a great 
reminder to all of us that we are a special country with special people 
doing great things every single day.

                          ____________________