[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 208 (Thursday, December 2, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING SYDNEY NOEL BURKS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 2, 2021

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
tenacious and ambitious young lady, Sydney Noel Burks.
  Sydney is a Sophomore at Hinds Community College-Utica Campus 
majoring in Chemistry/Pre-Pharmacy. She was a May 2020 graduate of Park 
Place Christian Academy (PPCA), where she graduated as a Highest Honor 
graduate with a 4.0 GPA. During her time at PPCA, she was inducted into 
the National Honor Society and served as Secretary of the Beta Club.
  Sydney also believes in giving back to the community and helping 
those who are less fortunate. Her service and leadership have not only 
given her experiences she will cherish for a lifetime but has also 
enabled her to become an advocate for others and to promote issues that 
are of importance. Some of the community service events she was 
involved in during high school and continue to be involved includes the 
following:
  We Will Go--Organized community closet and assisted the neighbors 
with bagging groceries and clothing and picked up trash and debris 
around the city;
  Stewpot--Assisted with packing and serving lunches;
  Feed the Need--Worked as a team member to pack and bag food to later 
be shipped to those who are food insecure;
  Feed the Hungry--Talked to, prayed with, and assisted with serving 
lunch to those who were hungry in Poindexter Park;
  Operation Christmas Child (Shoebox Processing Center in Texas)--
Worked with a team to pack shoeboxes and ensure that the items in the 
shoeboxes met the safety requirements to be shipped to the children who 
needed them; and
  The Little Lighthouse--Worked with special needs children by 
assisting teachers with primary lessons, feeding the children lunch, 
and supervising recess. Also assisted with creating `Thank You' cards 
for their 5K race.
  During Sydney's tenure at Hinds Community College-Utica Campus, she 
has maintained a cumulative 4.0 grade point average, and has been named 
a President's Scholar. She is currently a member of the Yearbook and 
Robotics Clubs. Sydney is a STEM student and is a member of the Louis 
Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation. In addition, 
Sydney is a Mississippi INBRE (Idea Network of Biomedical Research 
Excellence) Scholar. Mississippi IDeA Network of Biomedical Research 
Excellence (INBRE) is a network of colleges and universities, designed 
to build a biomedical research infrastructure in Mississippi. The 
mission is to reach out to Mississippians in order to improve health 
throughout the state and to engage talented researchers and students in 
biomedical research projects that will increase the state's research 
competitiveness as well as impact the health of citizens of 
Mississippi.
  As an INBRE scholar, she had the opportunity to be an intern with My 
Brother's Keeper. She presented the outcomes of her work entitled, 
``Potential Mistrust of the COVID-19 Vaccine Among African-Americans in 
Mississippi,'' during the Mississippi Health Disparities Annual 
Conference 2021 in Biloxi, MS. Also, she is the Mississippi-Louisiana 
Vice-President of Phi Theta Kappa International College Honor Society. 
Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) recognizes the academic achievement of college 
students and provides opportunities for its members to grow as scholars 
and leaders.
  Recently, Sydney was named as one of the Historically Black College 
and University Scholars.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Ms. 
Sydney Noel Burks for the outstanding work and accomplishments she has 
made thus far.

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