[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING SALSA SOKOLSKI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
congratulate a constituent from Warren County who has a truly 
remarkable story, an American story.
  Salsa Ananda Catherina grew up in rural Indonesia on the central 
island of Java. She was raised by her grandmother and uncle and lived 
in a house without electricity, where water came from an underground 
spring.
  Salsa left home at age 16 to go to work for Sony TV in Malaysia. Most 
of the money she made was sent home to help her family, primarily for 
her brother and his four children, but also to her uncle, who helped 
raise her.
  Salsa moved to Hong Kong at the age of 26 to work with families. She 
helped raise children, did cooking and general housekeeping. Again, 
most of the money she made was sent back to Indonesia to help her 
family survive.
  It was in Hong Kong that Salsa taught herself how to speak English, 
and, today, she not only speaks English fluently, but she is also 
fluent in more than six languages, all of them self-taught.
  It was in Hong Kong that Salsa met her future husband, Lincoln 
Sokolski, who was there on business. Lincoln is president of Whirley-
DrinkWorks! in Warren, Pennsylvania. The pair dated long distance for 5 
years, and in 2010, Salsa came to the United States on a fiancee visa.

  Salsa and Lincoln were married in Warren on July 10, 2010, on the 
beautiful grounds of the Crary Museum. Salsa's first job was as a 
volunteer at the Warren County YMCA. She helped greet guests and 
performed other customer service responsibilities.
  A year later, Salsa had done something she had never done before: she 
learned to drive. She obtained her driver's license and started working 
at Blair, in the packaging area. Salsa had never driven a car prior to 
moving to the United States.
  She would soon take a job at Whirley-DrinkWorks! in the office 
performing administrative functions, communications, and human 
resources. In her more than 5 years at Whirley-DrinkWorks!, she has 
become a highly valued and respected teammate. Salsa has also been 
recognized for her teamwork, positive attitude, and always coming to 
work with the highest integrity and loyalty to the company.
  In 2013, Salsa graduated from the year-long Leadership Warren 
program, which is designed to educate future leaders on how to work 
with nonprofit organizations and help them achieve sustained success. 
One key project her team took on was to help teach disadvantaged 
children how to read.
  Salsa and Lincoln are very active in giving back to the community 
with their time, leadership, and personal resources to help make Warren 
County a better place to live and work. Among the organizations the 
Sokolskis have worked with include the Warren YMCA, the United Fund of 
Warren County, Struthers Library Theatre, Warren General Hospital, 
Salvation Army, and numerous others.
  Mr. Speaker, Salsa Sokolski's story doesn't end there. On February 2, 
2018, Salsa achieved one of her greatest accomplishments, something she 
considers to be her highest honor--she became a U.S. citizen.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to remark on what an incredible person Salsa 
Sokolski is. From working hard to take care of her family, to teaching 
herself more that six languages and giving back to her community, Salsa 
truly is impressive.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Salsa on achieving her American 
citizenship. I am proud to call her a fellow American.

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