[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 137 (Monday, August 3, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4666]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DIANA O'CONNOR

  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I am pleased to recognize 
Diana O'Connor, the Indian River County Teacher of the Year from 
Beachland Elementary School in Vero Beach, FL.
  Diana instills her love for learning in each student, knowing this is 
important for them today and later in their academic careers. Diana 
began a schoolwide initiative for collecting soda can tabs for Ronald 
McDonald House Charities and is one of the lead representatives for her 
school's Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Pennies for Patients program. 
She brings awareness of these issues to her students to assist their 
classmates who may be in need of help without their classmates knowing 
about it.
  Diana is the exceptional student education department chair and 
assists general education teachers in planning standards-based 
instruction and diverse lesson plans at Beachland Elementary School. 
She is also an ESOL endorsed educator. Diana graduated cum laude from 
the University of Central Florida with a bachelor's degree in specific 
learning disabilities for kindergarten through twelfth grade and is 
currently working towards her reading endorsement. Diana is a certified 
crisis prevention and intervention educator, a clinical educator, and 
an Indian River County Education Association member.
  I offer my sincere gratitude to Diana for helping students learn 
throughout the school year. I look forward to hearing of her continued 
success in the years to come.

                          ____________________