[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 130 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4131-H4132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING JAKE'S JOURNEY HOME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Kiley) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jake's Journey 
Home, a local nonprofit in my district.
  In September 2019, Jake Shuman, a Seabee veteran and small business 
owner, passed away unexpectedly. He left behind not just his loving 
friends and family but also a legacy of empathy, generosity, and 
humility.
  In an effort to continue Jake's powerful legacy, his mother, Jean 
Shuman, founded Jake's Journey Home. This nonprofit has taken up the 
mission of assisting unhoused veterans and community members 
experiencing a life path change.
  Jake's Journey Home provides the necessary wraparound support 
services and resources to those in need to fight against the growing 
problem of poverty and to help someone's tomorrow be better than today.
  With the strong support of the community, the organization obtained a 
mobile day center last year to help connect people with VA benefits, 
mental health aid, drug and alcohol abuse support, job skills, medical 
assistance, and life coaching. Their mission is ongoing, with goals to 
expand their services into a permanent building.
  Jake's Journey Home is a pillar in our community, and it is a true 
honor to represent in Congress exceptional organizations such as this 
one.
  On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored 
to recognize Jake's Journey Home for outstanding service and 
contributions to the Folsom community and greater Sacramento region.


                        Recognizing Judd Symons

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 2023 EMS 
Provider of the Year for Inyo County, Judd Symons, for his remarkable 
accomplishments and contributions in the southern portions of the Third 
Congressional District.
  Mr. Symons' career in the Bishop area began when he was only in high 
school, during which he became certified as an emergency medical 
technician. For 3 years of his high school career, and a few summers 
following, he also served on the local search and rescue team.
  He went on to earn his certification as a paramedic from the 
Stanford-Foothill Paramedic Program. Shortly thereafter, in 1989, at 
just 21 years old, he and his father began their local family business, 
an ambulance service named Symons Emergency Services.

  With over three decades of offering superior emergency medical 
services, this establishment has become a leading provider in our 
region. Relied upon by many, his ambulance service provides care to 
those across many different types of geographic landscapes, from urban 
cities to the rural High Sierras to the remote wilderness.
  Even in the face of obstacles, Mr. Symons' continued dedication to 
his community and commitment to the well-being of Inyo County residents 
and the surrounding area is inspiring.
  As a longtime owner and operator of this service, Mr. Symons is 
regarded by others as an individual with professionalism, care, hands-
on involvement, and a unique ability to remain calm under pressure.
  On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored 
to join the Inyo County community in thanking Judd Symons for his many 
years of distinguished service and leadership in both emergency medical 
services and search and rescue operations.


                         Recognizing Helen Chu

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of National Zookeeper 
Appreciation Week, I wish to take a moment to recognize an outstanding 
zookeeper in my district, Helen Chu.
  Ms. Chu serves locally at the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary. The zoo is 
home to many rescued wild and domestic animals, including bears, wolf 
hybrids, monkeys, birds, cougars, insects, and more.
  Ms. Chu has worked for the Folsom Zoo since 2019, but her service to 
wildlife has been lifelong. She graduated from the University of 
California Davis with a degree in wildlife, fish, and conservation 
biology and also earned a degree in exotic animal training and 
management from Moorpark College.
  Prior to bringing this knowledge to the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary, 
Ms. Chu worked with animals as a zookeeper for the Fresno Chaffee Zoo 
and the Sacramento Zoo.
  In Folsom, Ms. Chu has contributed significantly to the zoo's 
positive reinforcement animal training and behavioral enrichment 
programs, improving the quality of life of the animals.
  Her diligent efforts and unique ability to problem solve have helped 
animals with health challenges participate in veterinary care without 
undue stress or danger to the animals and staff.
  Throughout her tenure, she has exhibited the core values of a 
zookeeper through teamwork, excellence, and patience.
  Her leadership and dedication to the care and well-being of the 
animals and the experience of Folsom residents is truly admirable.
  On behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I am honored 
to recognize Helen Chu and thank her for her service to the Folsom 
community.


     Recognizing California's Third Congressional District Interns

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I will take a moment in the spirit of 
National Intern Day to recognize several truly exemplary individuals 
currently interning in my Washington, D.C., and district offices.
  Over the course of their internships, these students and recent 
graduates have embodied the essence of public service.
  They have made the government accessible to their neighbors by 
leading guided tours of the Capitol, ensured that people's voices are 
heard by taking down their concerns and sharing

[[Page H4132]]

them with me, and even helping people renew their passports and access 
the services and benefits they are entitled to from the Federal 
Government.
  In my D.C. office, I am proud to have Alex McDonald, Khori Cranford, 
and Giavanna Chopra.
  Alex grew up in Willows, California, just outside our congressional 
district. He has long had a passion for politics and public service. He 
even remembers watching the Obama-Romney debates from over a decade 
ago. Impressively, he is going into his sophomore year at Yale 
University, studying political science.
  Khori graduated this past May from CSU Fresno with a degree in 
political science. She has also embraced her Armenian heritage and was 
selected to participate in the highly competitive Armenian Assembly of 
America as part of the Terjenian-Thomas internship this summer. After 
her summer here, she will work toward earning a master's degree in 
communications at San Diego State University.
  Giavanna has been incredibly active in public service since a young 
age. She previously served as an intern in my State assembly office and 
as a deputy campaign manager on my race last year. During the same time 
period, she also won a national debate title and created a program to 
mentor young debaters. She will be entering college this fall at 
Northwestern University and, not surprisingly, was recruited to join 
Northwestern's debate team.
  In my district office in Rocklin, I am proud to have Jaime Robles, 
Emma Worden, and Raghava Kodavatikanti, who are serving there as 
interns.
  Jaime recently graduated from Sierra College in Rocklin and will be 
attending UC Berkeley in the spring to major in economics. He served as 
vice president and student senator of the Sierra College Student 
Senate, vice president of student engagement for the social science 
club, and is a Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society member. Jaime is also 
bilingual, and I have recently been impressed with his ability to 
utilize that skill to serve our Spanish-speaking residents.
  Emma is originally from the district, graduating recently from 
Whitney High School, and is pursuing a degree in economics and 
politics. Our Rocklin team and I have especially appreciated her 
leadership, teamwork, and collaborative approach in our office.
  Raghava recently graduated from the rigorous IB program at Mira Loma 
High School and will be attending UCLA this fall, majoring in political 
science. Similar to Giavanna, he also had an early interest in public 
service. Raghava previously interned in my State assembly office, as 
well as for the California State treasurer and Sacramento district 
attorney's offices. He also serves as a youth advisory executive board 
member and moderator for the California Coalition for Youth.

  Mr. Speaker, every single one of these six individuals has been a 
tremendous help to me and our team in serving the people of the Third 
Congressional District of California, and I am incredibly grateful that 
they have chosen to invest their time and talents with us.
  On behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives, I thank them for 
their commitment to public service.


                         Recognizing Tyler Tate

  Mr. KILEY. Mr. Speaker, I will also say a few words about someone who 
is a model for all of these interns working at our offices here in D.C. 
and back home in Rocklin, someone who is a former intern himself and a 
constituent, having grown up in our district and graduated from high 
school at Woodcreek in Roseville. He has been the communications 
director for my office, a role that he will continue up until tomorrow, 
when he is starting his first year at Harvard Law School. That is Tyler 
Tate.
  I first met Tyler in my 2016 campaign for the State assembly. I think 
I actually met him in 2015 because we got started pretty early. That 
was a true underdog campaign. There were 11 candidates, and Tyler was 
really one of the very first people to join and help lead what was 
truly a grassroots undertaking.
  He went on to go to Georgetown for college and actually interned in 
my State assembly office and quickly gained a reputation as everyone's 
favorite intern. That is why I say he is a model on National Intern 
Day.
  After college, Tyler got some experience in D.C. He did a stint at 
the White House. When I was running for Congress last year, I was in 
need of a campaign manager, and I couldn't think of anyone better for 
the job.
  I was continually impressed by his mastery of the nuts and bolts of 
running a campaign, such as delivering the yard signs or designing 
precinct blocks, but also more intangible qualities of leadership, like 
his ability to inspire a very dedicated team of volunteers.

                              {time}  1800

  Just as one indication of the caliber of people he got involved, two 
of the interns he attracted to join the campaign will actually be 
joining him at Harvard next year where they will be starting 
themselves, respectively at the college and the law school.
  After I was elected and took office, Tyler became our communications 
director. I would wager there is not a better or more dedicated 
communications director on Capitol Hill.
  Shortly after I was sworn in, my district was hit by a series of 
truly devastating storms that wreaked havoc on many communities, and 
without having had more than perhaps a week or so in the office, Tyler 
threw himself into the very complicated but vitally important task of 
getting important information to all of our constituents on how they 
could deal with the storm and the resources that were available.
  That quality of service has continued throughout his time with us. He 
does everything from dealing with the media and setting up press 
appearances to writing and editing our weekly newsletter and other 
releases that go out, and advising me on important matters of policy.
  Through it all, he has truly demonstrated a remarkable ability to 
understand the nuances of politics and policy in a way that is really 
hard to believe knowing he is only a few years out of college. You 
would think he was a seasoned veteran of Capitol Hill.
  When I wrote a letter of recommendation for him for law school, I was 
halfway tempted to sabotage the whole thing so that I could selfishly 
keep him with our office. I was not surprised at all when he got 
accepted. I know he is going to excel in law school. He will be a great 
lawyer, but I think there are also great things ahead of him in public 
service, as well.
  For those who are watching at home, I would advise them to remember 
the name Tyler Tate. I thank Tyler for everything he has done to help 
me serve the people of the Third District.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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