[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17213]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       TRIBUTE TO ROBERT ANGUIANO

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 6, 2000

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Robert Anguiano of 
Corpus Christi's Tuloso-Midway High School, for winning the Hispanic 
Heritage Awards Foundation National Youth Award for Sports. This young 
man has an enormous amount of discipline and endurance.
  Robert has accomplished a great deal in the field of sports and 
academics, and I am proud that he was chosen for this honor. Robert is 
in the top 20% of his class, an athlete-scholar with a litany of 
associations including honors clubs, leadership awards and community 
service. He is precisely the sort of young person that the Hispanic 
Heritage Awards Foundation seeks to reward.
  Robert has an unusual determination. This became particularly evident 
when he badly hurt his knee while playing tennis. He went through two 
and one half months on crutches and hours of physical therapy. His 
doctors told him he could play tennis again, but would not be 
competitive due to the seriousness of the injury. He did not let their 
admonitions deter him from his game.
  Robert won this award, not because he had a particularly good year, 
but because he has been a steady, reliable athlete and has always been 
in it for the long haul. His coach credits him with holding his tennis 
team together during a transition and leading them to the regional 
level.
  This young man is more than an athlete; he is a scholar, a young 
leader in his school and community, and he volunteers his time to teach 
tennis to younger people in the community. He is a National Honor 
Society member, captain of his tennis team, and has a grade point 
average of 3.74.
  The Hispanic Heritage Awards celebrates the achievements of 
outstanding Hispanic Americans in the arts, literature, leadership, 
education and sports. The awards program provides an important service 
to the community and youth by profiling Hispanic American role models. 
The awards, which are endorsed by 34 national Hispanic organizations 
who serve as the nominating committee, is the only program co-hosted by 
all of these organizations.
  I ask my colleagues to join me today in commending Robert Anguiano 
for his accomplishments and his quiet leadership in the classroom and 
on the tennis court, and in commending the Hispanic Heritage Awards for 
their efforts in rewarding the excellence among our young people.

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