John Paul Jacob of Cistercian Preparatory School in Irving, TX has just been awarded The Congressional Award Gold Medal – Congress’ highest honor for civilian youth. This medal honors youth for their commitment to voluntary public service, as well as personal development and physical fitness.
Through The Congressional Award, Congress urges young people to challenge themselves. Any interested, motivated student, aged 14 through 24 years old, may participate in the Congressional Award by setting and achieving individually challenging goals in four program areas: Voluntary Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness and Expedition/Exploration. The Congressional Award adapts to meet the needs of every participant as they set goals according to their own interests and level of abilities. The Award is geared toward motivated, interested youth who set their own personally challenging goals and activities.
“I wanted to earn the Congressional Award to make a positive impact in my community and the social issues (which I find pressing) through my own service as well as leadership in clubs and activities in my school and community.", said John Paul.
To earn the Gold Medal, each participant must complete at least 400 hours of Voluntary Public Service, which means sharing their time and talent for the betterment of the community, 200 hours of Personal Development, which can include developing social and life skills as well as interests, and 200 hours of Physical Fitness, spent in any way that improves their health and quality of life. Additionally, they must spend at least 5 days and 4 nights exploring a new environment or culture.
John Paul has been consistently working to achieve this award for over 24 months, the minimum time frame to earn the Gold Medal.
John Paul explains how he was able to achieve the program's requirements:
1. Voluntary Public Service
"I achieved 414 hours of service (As a high school student, many of my service activities were associated with my school under the Community Service Council and the clubs of which I am a member. Many of my activities were also associated with my chapter of Young Men's Service League and my Scouts BSA Unit, Troop 845. Many of my service activities were focused on serving the elderly, needy, homeless, and those with special needs. A large number of service volunteer service hours were performed as part of my Eagle Scout service project that benefited a local non-profit that cares for the homeless elderly and dying in our community (I renovated 2 of their bathrooms to make them wheelchair accessible for their residents). Some other organizations which I volunteered for are: Keep Irving Beautiful, Metrocrest Social Services, For the Love of the Lake (White Rock Lake Cleanup), Arts Mission Oak Cliff, Irving "Adopt-a-Road", Miracle Melodies (for Autistic and special needs children), Local Women's Shelters, Community Carnivals, and Feed My Starving Children.)"
2. Personal Development
"I achieved 512.25 hours (My activities consisted of attending Boy Scout meetings and working on Merit Badges to achieve Eagle Rank in Scouts (the highest level rank), attending practices and performances with my school's Drama department to further my acting ability and achieve larger roles in the productions, studying for AP exams and the SAT to achieve the highest score on the SAT possible, and spiritual retreats and bible studies to further my spirituality and grow in my faith. I accomplished my goal of becoming a better leader and pursuing my education in all of these categories. In Boy Scouts, I achieved the Eagle Rank and earned 23 merit badges as well as the highest level Religious Emblem award (only achieved by very few in Scouting). In addition, my studying for AP tests and the SAT resulted in a very high score on the actual tests and I also earned the National Merit Rank on the PSAT. The bible studies and retreats I attended have helped me to grow in my faith and discernment of my vocation.)"
3. Physical Fitness
"I completed 319.75 hours (I enrolled in an extracurricular strength and conditioning program at my school and purchased a membership to a rock climbing gym near me. I also participated in a swim team as well as training to become a life guard to work in the local community. These activities were difficult because they require extra time which I could spend studying or with extracurricular activities, but they are important for my overall development as well as physical and mental health. My physical abilities have increased in general from the strength and conditioning program and my skill in climbing has increased substantially. In rock climbing, the grade of boulder problems which I can complete has increased from V0 to V6. My general strength (in bench press/squat/shoulder press/clean) has increased by at least 25% in each area over the span of the last few months.)"
4. Expedition/Exploration
"I backpacked through the Ouachita Trail - This trip was my first experience in backpacking and back country camping. Previously, I had always camped at established and maintained campsites which were easily accessible by car. I also learned about the ecosystem in that area in Oklahoma, a substantially different one than the ecosystem where I live. I was the SPL, essentially the youth leader, for my group, and so I was tasked with making many decisions concerning unexpected obstacles and other difficulties. Some of these decisions included how often to take breaks in order to accommodate the whole group's level of fitness, where to stop for lunch and snacks, how to set up our camp, ensuring that we were taking the correct path, deciding when to go to bed and wake up, and making sure that all of our necessary materials were kept safe and organized (food, water, etc.). On the first day, many of the members of the group were not used to hiking with the weight of their packs yet, and so I had to make sure that we were taking water breaks often enough so as not to exhaust the group but also retain a pace that would make sure we arrived at the campsite before dusk. At times this also required the more physically fit members of the group to carry some of the less fit members' weight (switching packs, etc.).The biggest areas in which I improved were probably my leadership skills as well as my ability to improvise and revise my plan in the moment.I enjoyed working on these achievements and am proud to have earned all 6 ranks of The Congressional Award.”
We congratulate John Paul and his proud family on this extraordinary achievement!
