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September 09, 2008

Rep. Schiff Honors Lauren Arana, Tenth Grade Student from Glendale's Hoover High School

CONGRESSMAN ADAM B. SCHIFF
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great appreciation and admiration for Hoover High School student Lauren Arana, who saved her friend's life earlier this year. I am truly proud to have Lauren, who is now a 10th grade student from Glendale, as a constituent of mine.

On May 14, Lauren received a text message from a friend of hers in Nebraska who said that she was going to commit suicide. Lauren did not hesitate for a second in responding to this call for help. She immediately took the initiative to try and contact her friend's mother, and when she was unsuccessful, she contacted her friend's school in Sioux City, Nebraska.

Upon receiving Lauren's call, an assistant principal stepped into action and went to the troubled student's home, where he found her with a knife to her neck and having already consumed antifreeze. Thankfully, due to Lauren's swift actions, the assistant principal was able to intervene in time to save her friend's life. This is a remarkable story, and demonstrates Lauren's extraordinary character.

Youth suicide is a tragic problem plaguing our Nation. It is the third leading cause of death for 15-to 24-year-olds and the sixth leading cause for 5- to 14-year-olds. Lauren's heroic intervention is a perfect example of how anyone should react to such a call for help. We should all learn from this story which, thankfully, avoided a tragic ending.