Tribute to Joshua Alexander Boycott

TRIBUTE TO JOSHUA ALEXANDER BOYCOTT

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I stand before you today to speak of a young man who has touched many of the lives here in the Senate Chamber. It is with great sadness that I rise today to talk about a young man from Alaska. Alaska and the country lost this young man last week.

On Friday, just 1 week ago, one of my former Senate pages, Joshua Alexander Boycott, was killed in a car accident in his hometown of Fairbanks. It was one of those mornings. He was driving his younger brother to school. In Fairbanks at this time of year, winter is starting to happen. It was the first snowfall, with slippery, icy roads. Apparently Josh lost control of the vehicle and was killed.

Josh was one of those young Americans, those young Alaskans whom we look at and we can identify instantly as a young man going places. I look at the beautiful faces of the young pages who serve in this Chamber. I look at each one of them and I see the potential and the greatness in each and every one of these beautiful young men and women. Josh had that.

Josh came to the Senate during the 2002 fall semester. He was one of those who so thoroughly enjoyed what he did in the Senate as a page. For those who are not familiar with the routines and rituals of the pages on the Senate floor, it may seem that oftentimes what pages do is a bit mundane—filling glasses of water, standing guard at the door during the votes, getting lecterns for Senators so they may speak, running errands all over. It is not exactly intellectually challenging, high-powered stuff. But Josh enjoyed every bit of it. He would stand there and open the door with a big smile and a "Good morning." It was not just to me, his Senator from Alaska, it was to every Senator who came through. He was so thoroughly enjoying being part of the process. He was well liked by the other pages with whom he worked. He did exceptionally well in the page school.

Again, the pages certainly know the routine they have to deal with on a daily basis: Very early morning hours, attending page school, full, long days, attending to their duties here in the Senate Chamber. And then in the evening, it is not as though you have the night off and can go do what you want; it is time to study and do all that is required of you. It is an extremely rigorous schedule, but there were no complaints from Josh. He was thriving on it because he was doing exactly what he wanted to do.

The last time I saw Josh was in late July. He was one of two Alaskans selected to attend the American Legion Boys Nation, a conference at Marymount University just outside of Washington, DC. After the conference ended, he came up to my office to say hi to everybody because he made great friends here. I was fortunate enough to be having a party for my summer interns at my home that night. We were having a barbecue at the house, so I invited Josh over to join us. He fell right in with this group of new Alaskans he hadn't met, but by the end of the evening it was obvious everybody enjoyed him as much as I had. It was a wonderful conversation. We were talking about what it is he wanted to do when he grew up, where he wanted to go next. He actually had aspirations of attending my alma mater in Washington, DC, which is Georgetown. Josh was in the process of applying to the university.

What he really wanted to do was return to Washington, DC, to continue his passion for politics. He had seen so much, he had observed so much, and was so stimulated by what he saw around him that he wanted to come back and make a difference. I have no doubt that were he able to, he would have done just that.

In addition to being a great young man everybody liked, he was a great student. He was at the top of his class, ranking 15 out of 262 seniors. He scored over 1500—actually, 1510—out of a possible 1600 on his SAT exam. He was an incredible singer. I had the privilege of being serenaded, if you will, by his singing choral group in Fairbanks. I looked over and said, wait a minute, don't I know that boy from somewhere? It was during the summer months. He left DC as a page and he was then back in Fairbanks. I looked over and I thought, wait a minute, that is Josh. What is he doing singing like a bird. It was beautiful, just gorgeous.

Josh was a dynamic young man, a gifted young man who had a future that I think we can look to and say he was making a difference. It is a tragedy Josh's life was cut short. He was truly an extraordinary young man who brought so much joy and so much pleasure to everybody who was around him. I personally feel blessed to have known him, to have been able to share some of his short time with him. I ask that we remember his friends, and particularly his family, who are grieving for this loss at this particular time.

But as we reflect on the life and contributions of a young man such as Josh Boycott, I suggest all those who are able to serve us here as pages in the Senate look at this as a gift, an opportunity to be in a place of service, to be in a place where you can learn, and you can give back so much at a later point in your life.

So, again, I am blessed to have known Josh. I know many in this Chamber feel the same way. I mentioned yesterday in the cloakroom that I was going to be speaking about Josh, and everyone in the cloakroom remembered him. He has been gone from the Senate Chamber now for over 6 months. All the Senate pages look alike—in terms of their dress, that is—yet Josh had distinguished himself.

So it is with great love and respect that we pay tribute to this fine young man and to his family during this time of mourning.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.