[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 139 (Friday, August 25, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING EDUCATOR STEVEN LONZO FOR HIS EXEMPLARY SERVICE

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                          HON. ELISSA SLOTKIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 25, 2023

  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to Steven Lonzo of 
Lansing, Michigan, an educator who made a tangible and lasting impact 
on his students and on the community. As the final bell rings on his 
educational career, I honor his extraordinary devotion to shaping, 
lifting up, and supporting the next generation.
  Steven Lonzo began his teaching career in Coloma, Michigan, and soon 
after joined the Lansing School District as a middle school language 
arts teacher. Little did a young Mr. Lonzo know that the district would 
become his world, his home, and his heart over the next several 
decades. Over the course of his career, Mr. Lonzo touched the lives of 
students at Lansing's Dwight Rich Middle School, Eastern High School, 
Everett High School, Harry Hill Vocational Center and Success Program, 
Sexton High School, and finally Willow Elementary, the building where 
he has served as principal for the past 11 years.
  Beloved inside each of those buildings, Mr. Lonzo's impact was also 
felt outside the classroom walls, as he constantly sought opportunities 
to improve the quality of life for his students, his staff, and the 
community at large. Those efforts include donating tens of thousands of 
dollars in scholarships to Lansing students through businesses he owned 
with his wife, Re'Shane, establishing a clothing closet for students 
and families, coordinating the purchase of boots and warm winter gear 
for students in need, ensuring no school families went without holiday 
meals or gifts, and organizing a 5K run to raise awareness of human 
trafficking and stranger danger in the Lansing area.
  From the beginning of his career, Mr. Lonzo understood that educating 
a child extends far beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic, and 
throughout his career he sought to meet the needs of the whole child, 
the whole family, and the whole community. In addition to his 
successful school career, he and his wife used their various 
entrepreneurial projects to further this goal, including their 
commercial real estate group focused on redeveloping blighted and 
distressed properties in communities that need economic partnerships, 
like Lansing's Saginaw Street Corridor. Mr. Lonzo also understands that 
not every student has the same educational needs, which is why he 
launched the DRM International Learning Center, a state licensed 
vocational trade school headquartered in Lansing that has been 
operating since 2002.
  Steven Lonzo once said that choosing to become an educator changed 
the course of his life. I say that in turn, his choice changed and 
shaped the lives of the thousands of students who were fortunate enough 
to benefit from his service. The same is true for the many teachers, 
staff members, and parents he mentored along the way. As he concludes 
his educational career, it is fitting that we recognize the profound 
and enduring legacy of motivation, compassion, and expertise he leaves 
behind. On behalf of Michigan's 7th Congressional District, I thank him 
for choosing service over self and wish him a happy retirement with his 
wife, children, and grandchildren. His service to the community will 
forever be remembered in the Lansing School District.

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