TRIBUTES

Erica Paulson

My first job upon graduating from college was to work in the U.S. Senate for one of Senator Kennedy's Democratic colleagues.  When several friends in my office were signing up to volunteer at a local Capitol Hill elementary school to read with students as part of the Everybody Wins! reading program, I decided to sign up as well.  I didn't know a lot about the program, so imagine my surprise when I learned that Senator Kennedy was a fellow volunteer!

One of my fondest memories from my time working in the Senate was when the Everybody Wins! students came to visit the Senate for the end of school year celebration program.  I will never forget Senator Kennedy's reading partner introducing him to the group simply as "my friend, Ted."  What a lucky little girl she was and how lucky we all have been to have had a friend like Senator Kennedy who pledged his life to the service of our nation and its citizens.