The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING KENNEDY ANDERSON
______
HON. LAUREN UNDERWOOD
of illinois
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 7, 2022
Ms. UNDERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Kennedy Anderson for her service to my office.
Kennedy joined our team as our D.C. staff assistant in July 2021, and quickly proved herself indispensable to our organization. In February of this year, she took on additional responsibility with my communications team and was promoted to staff assistant/press and digital assistant. Kennedy embodies our office's values of excellence, kindness, service, responsiveness, productivity, and accessibility. Kennedy's role is demanding and involves serving not only our staff, but also our broader community, as well as managing our paid internship program. On top of this workload, she always finds time to connect with each colleague, mentor each intern, and identify opportunities to improve our office's operations and constituent communication.
In her management of the internship program, she often went above and beyond, providing additional skills training, life advice, and job seeking support to talented young people with ambitions for public service. She worked with our Chief of Staff to improve recruitment of interns from underrepresented backgrounds. Kennedy unfailingly treats all who interact with my office with respect and enthusiasm and is among those special people whose positive energy illuminates a room--
even a Zoom room. During our office's celebration of Black History Month, she shared daily presentations of her family's experiences facing and rising above discrimination in the Jim Crow South and pioneering their way to success in professions where Black Americans are under represented. She also took a leadership role in supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in our office by bringing educational programming to our staff meetings.
We will miss the joy and creativity Kennedy brings to our office, the sweet potato pie she brought to our office holiday party, and her being the one staff member who truly commits to the theme on celebratory Zoom gatherings--sometimes even through costume. Prior to joining my staff, Kennedy earned a Bachelor's degree from Converse University in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
We are incredibly proud of Kennedy's professional growth in the time she has been with our office and wish her the best in her next opportunities. Although Kennedy may be leaving our office, our community in northern Illinois and my entire staff will always consider her as part of Team Underwood. Madam Speaker, I would like to formally thank Kennedy Anderson for her service to my office, to Illinois' 14th Congressional District, and to our country.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 112(1), Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 112(2)
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