Louisiana State Senate honors Samantha Perez

To those who say politicians never do anything worthwhile, read this…

Regular Session, 2006 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 127
BY SENATOR [WALTER] BOASSO
A RESOLUTION

To commend Samantha Perez on her numerous achievements and accomplishments and on receiving the prestigious “The Professor Mel Williams Award ” for writing.

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that the citizens of Louisiana have learned of the honor bestowed upon Samantha Perez for her written accounts of Hurricane Katrina; and

WHEREAS, Samantha Perez, the seventeen year-old Louisianian who is both a victim and a survivor, and an eternal optimist living amid disaster; and

WHEREAS, she recently became a celebrated high school journalist when she was honored at the International College Scholastic Press Forum for her first-hand accounts of the storm’s aftermath for Tattoo, an independent teen-written newspaper based in Connecticut; and

WHEREAS, she was honored with “The Professor Mel Williams Award” at the forum which showcased the work of high school newspapers from Vermont to Ohio; and

WHEREAS, Samantha Perez stated that “Katrina” has opened a lot of doors for her, such as flying on a plane for the first time on her way to receive her award and staying in a hotel with “endless” hot water, amenities that are not included with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-provided trailer she and her family live in while they try to re-build a home on the same lot where their original home once stood; and

WHEREAS, Miss Perez recalls first hearing about Hurricane Katrina after her high school’s first football game of the season; and

WHEREAS, her family then temporarily left their home in St. Bernard Parish before the worst of the hurricane hit, and as the storm made landfall, the busy plans of this teenager in the throes of her senior year quickly took a detour; and

WHEREAS, in her columns for the Tattoo she expresses her emotions on paper during and after the hurricane, “Our home is gone. We have nothing now . . . They won’t allow news crews to film or to show footage of my parish because of all the bodies floating in the rivers that used to be our streets.”; and

WHEREAS, her horrific written accounts of how Hurricane Katrina catapulted her somewhat ordinary teenage life into a surreal reality touched many readers; and

WHEREAS, she knows her life changed forever with Hurricane Katrina as she continues to forge forward graduating from high school and making plans to attend college; and

WHEREAS, she now knows what it means when it is said “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger”; and

WHEREAS, the success of the state of Louisiana, the strength of our communities and the overall vitality of American Society depend, in great measure, upon young people like Samantha Perez who continue to make the best out of seemingly insurmountable situations.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Samantha Perez on her numerous accomplishments and wishes her much success in all her future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be presented to Samantha Perez.

[signature] PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE

Direct link to the resolution