[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15224]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO NEIL SAIGAL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 11, 2011

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of 
Neil Saigal, a remarkable young man who will be remembered as someone 
who lived life's moments to their fullest. His presence impacted, and 
changed for the better, all those who were fortunate enough to be in 
his company.
  It's hard to imagine that such a bright flame has been extinguished, 
and even harder to imagine that we won't one day see Neil again with 
his camera in hand, a story to tell, and a witty remark on his lips. 
While we all miss Neil, we take comfort in knowing that God had better 
plans for him, and that he's found peace. Before Neil passed away he 
was living in India, surrounded by family and everything he loved in 
life. He was learning meditation, practicing yoga, and playing any 
number of sports every day.
  Even though we often measure life in years, with Neil it is more 
fitting to measure it in terms of accomplishments. Everything Neil did, 
he did in splendid fashion. After graduating from Clovis West High 
School in 2003, he went on to attend the University of California, 
Irvine, and received a degree in Psychology in 2008. While at U.C. 
Irvine he was a member of the Crew team, a researcher in the Brain 
Imaging Center, and a great friend to all his classmates. His success 
at U.C. Irvine included receiving a patent for MEFWAY, and being 
awarded a 1st place prize at the Young Investigators Award by the 
Society of Nuclear Medicine, in Toronto. He continued his academic 
pursuits as a Fulbright Scholar, attending the Karolinska Institute 
where he continued his research in brain imaging. Soon after, he 
attended the University of Cambridge, in England, on a full 
scholarship. Neil's most notable accomplishment however was not 
academic, but moral--living compassionately, selflessly, and always 
thinking of those around him.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in remembering Neil for his thirst for 
life, love of nature, insatiable curiosity, humble spirit, and warm 
heart.

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