[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15619]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL HISTORY DAY

 Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I wish to recognize three great 
students from New Mexico today. These three students have harnessed 
their creativity and skills to produce amazing projects which were 
displayed today at the National Portrait Gallery in honor of National 
History Day. What a great achievement for these students to be selected 
out of 500,000 entries to be showcased in the National Portrait 
Gallery.
  Shannon Burns, from Los Alamos Middle School, has put together a 10-
minute documentary on Irish immigration and how it contributed to the 
American Civil War while Ryan Andrews-Armijo and Ashley Page from 
Moriarity Middle School contributed a documentary on the racial 
tensions and the triumph over those obstacles, of the 1966 Texas 
Western College basketball team. I was incredibly honored to meet with 
these three individuals earlier today, and I am impressed by their 
projects and their tenacity. I am proud to see these kids learn and put 
into action what they have learned at school and beyond.
  I was also very pleased to hear of 44 other students, in total, from 
New Mexico participating in the National History Day contest in 
Maryland today. It is quite impressive to see how well New Mexico was 
represented in this nationwide contest.
  National History Day is an academic organization for elementary and 
secondary children that has been celebrating history for over 25 years 
now. This exceptional scholarship program gives kids the opportunity to 
research a historical event and put that research into a format for 
others to enjoy. This is a great way for our children to learn and 
explore history while also putting their creativity to work. History is 
one of the cornerstone subjects taught in America's schools today. When 
students learn about the past, they are taught how to handle the 
future.
  National History Day gives us a unique opportunity to reflect on our 
past and appreciate where we, as Americans, come from. History makes us 
who we are, it defines us. We must not forget our history. Learning 
history is as important today in our schools as it ever was. We must 
always be stewards of continual learning from our mistakes and 
victories.
  Congratulations again to the amazing students participating in this 
great commemoration of history.

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