[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9389]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   ARLETA HIGH SCHOOL, SUN VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, AND SAN FERNANDO HIGH 
                                 SCHOOL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Cardenas) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, it's with great pride today that I rise to 
recognize the great achievements of three high schools in my district, 
District 29 in California.
  I want to begin by congratulating Arleta High School for achieving a 
92 percent graduation rate and setting the gold standard for the Los 
Angeles Unified School District.
  Opening in 2006, this school achieved this enormous feat in just 7 
years. The Arleta Mustangs have the highest graduation rate of any 
traditional high school in all of LA Unified School District. This is a 
testament to all the hard work and support this community has invested 
in its children and their future.
  I would also like to recognize departing Principal Dr. Linda Calvo 
for her unrelenting vision. She will be dearly missed, and I hope that 
her successor will continue the tremendous strides made on this campus 
and the surrounding neighborhoods.
  I would also like to recognize LA Unified School District board 
member Nury Martinez, who actually went to one of the high schools that 
I'm going to recognize in just a minute. She's been a strong and 
tireless advocate for this community as a school board member for the 
last 4 years.
  I commend the teachers for their commitment and dedication to their 
students; the parents for their love, support and involvement in their 
children's lives; and the students who have risen to the challenge and 
proved it is possible to reach your dreams.
  Bragging rights are not limited to just Arleta High School. Located 
less than 4 miles away, the Sun Valley High School Wildcats can also be 
proud. I'd like to congratulate and commend the Sun Valley High School 
Robotics Team for being named the national champions of the 2013 Mini-
Urban Challenge Competition. Sponsored by the United States Air Force 
Research Laboratory, this challenge requires high school students to 
design and operate a robotic car to autonomously navigate a model city. 
One June 1, the Sun Valley Robotics Team competed against nine regional 
champions in Washington, D.C., and became the national champions.
  I want to recognize also Principal Paul Del Rosario for his 
leadership and continuous support of the team; Mr. Hicks and Ms. 
Yamagata for guiding and assisting the team through the project and to 
the victory; the volunteers who invested their own time and money to 
help the teams, as well; and the students for their perseverance and 
creativity.
  The success of California's 29th District high schools doesn't end 
there, and it doesn't end just in the classroom.

                              {time}  1020

  I would also like to congratulate San Fernando High School's baseball 
team on winning their second city championship in 3 years. On June 1, 
San Fernando defeated Cleveland High School 2-1 in Dodger Stadium to 
claim their championship for a second year in a row.
  Under the leadership of Coach Armando Gomez, the Tigers have done a 
phenomenal job of playing as a team and putting in the extra work to 
build a successful program at San Fernando High School.
  All of these students are a great source of pride to our community, 
and prove that hard work, sacrifice, and commitment pay off. They are 
the future of our country and also of the San Fernando Valley.
  I think it is important for us to understand that today I stand not 
only to congratulate the young people, but to congratulate all of the 
adults that surround them who've given of themselves and gone the extra 
mile to make sure we bring out the best in our children.
  I also would like to take a point of personal privilege to welcome 
our little ambassador who's here to talk to me and other Members about 
children's hospitals. You might know him as Lil Vader, as he was in a 
commercial during the Super Bowl game. He's with me today as a young 
ambassador, showing leadership at his young age. I think it's important 
for us to recognize at moments like this that our young people, our 
young Americans, our teenagers, or maybe they're little kids, but you 
too can be a leader at any age. You don't have to wait until you're a 
little older, like us.

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