[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18680]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING ILENE GILLISPIE AS A RECIPIENT OF THE 2012 CRITICAL 
                          LANGUAGE SCHOLARSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 2, 2013

  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Ilene 
Gillispie, of the Alexandria portion of Fairfax County, a 2012 State 
Department Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) recipient. Ilene was 
selected for this competitive award based on her academic ability, 
exemplary citizenship, and her commitment to learning and mastering a 
foreign language of critical importance.
  While studying in Chandigarh, India, Ilene studied at the Punjabi 
Summer Institute and focused on creating a strong foundation for both 
her language fluency and her cultural competency. She participated in 
daily educational activities and built relationships with young leaders 
from all over the world with a focus on the Punjabi language, one of 
the thirteen ``critical needs'' foreign languages determined by the 
Department of State. The CLS program--a key component of the National 
Security Language Initiative--provides fully-funded, group-based, 
language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences to 
U.S. students overseas. The accelerated program of study over 8-10 
weeks is approximately equivalent to one full year of language study, 
and includes extracurricular activities designed to supplement the 
formal curriculum.
  Ilene is a student at the New College of Florida. It is inspiring to 
see young people who are interested in international educational and 
developmental experiences such as these. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleges 
to join me in recognizing Ilene Gillispie's achievements and wishing 
her continued success in her academic and professional pursuits.

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