[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6217-6218]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    CONGRATULATING THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO'S 
                 INTEGRATIVE COMMUNITY STUDIES PROGRAM

  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I wish to congratulate 11 students who will 
be graduating tomorrow at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. 
While celebrations will abound across our country for the class of 
2015, I want to highlight this very special group who, I must say, 
stands above the rest for their achievement.
  The University of North Carolina at Greensboro works with its 
nonprofit partner Beyond Academics to provide students who have 
intellectual and developmental disabilities a 4-year course of study 
that promotes self-determination, life planning, and career 
development. They call it the Integrative Community Studies program. 
These students learn how to build their own lives through employment 
and self-sufficient living. I have long supported these efforts and 
believe that anyone who cares about outcomes for individuals with 
disabilities should

[[Page 6218]]

look no further than UNC-G and Beyond Academics as an example for 
promoting success.
  This is a particularly special graduation day as it is the fifth 
graduating class since this course of study was created, and is the 
largest class to date. In sum, a total of 34 graduates are now better 
prepared to live self-sufficient lives that will not only make 
themselves better, but the community around them better as well. I 
couldn't be prouder of all of them.
  What started only about a decade ago as a community-wide effort in my 
homestate, has grown to, in my opinion, one of the most exciting things 
being done in the country for this community.
  It is with great enthusiasm and awe that I share with my colleagues 
this truly important day for these graduates and this wonderful 
program.

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