Sheila Jackson Lee: “I am excited that, in 1986, we added the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program--we all remember him as…”

“I am excited that, in 1986, we added the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program--we all remember him as a great astronaut who died in a horrific astronaut calamity--to foster doctoral degree attainment by students from underrepresented segments of society. But, Mr. Chair, a young man went to the Upward Bound program at the historically Black Texas Southern University. He graduated from Sterling High School, but he grew up in extreme poverty, stricken with food insecurities and difficult living conditions. Poverty is not only a state of being, but a state of mind. However, with the help of TRIO, he went on to acquire life skills, strategies, and the support he needed to follow the dream of attending the University of Texas at San Antonio, majoring in Construction Science Management. Not only did he graduate from UTSA, but he graduated with honors, and he plans to attend graduate school in the fall. He is one of many students that are impacted; and the more we focus on the at-risk students, the more America continues to ascend to her greatest level. We helped Terrance, who is a 40-year-old student that began working on his GED at Houston Community College in 2005. He ultimately achieved it 5 years later. My amendment, again, is to emphasize the doors of opportunity, from Ronald E. McNair, Student Support Services, Talent Search, the Training Program for Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math and Science, and Veterans Upward Bound.…”