Lately, whenever I read the news or watch the news on TV, inevitably the focus is on what is not working well in our country. We are inundated with stories of how leaders are failing their constituents or even stories about failed or ineffective leadership.
Although at times I am tempted to despair about the “state of the world” after hearing such stories, I invariably find myself thinking of the young people who are part of our Congressional Awards Program. Their energy, passion, idealism, creativity and resourcefulness fill me with hope for the future. Indeed, it isn’t their future work that inspires me so. It is that they are already doing good today and are making a significant difference in their part of the world.
When an 18-year-old student from Pennsylvania can raise $50,000 for cancer research for her local children’s hospital, that gives me hope. When some of our participants are already involved in more advanced leadership activities, including public speaking, facilitating meetings, attending conferences, creating visual media, mapping community resources, and training other teens, that gives me hope. When our Congressional Award youth are engaging in actions of leadership that inspires them to work for a cause greater than their own individual life, that gives me hope.
We often talk about the Arab Spring where thousands of youth demonstrated peacefully for change in their respective countries. In our country, we too are in the midst of our own American youth spring. The American youth have a passion for the possible and are not afraid of saying ‘yes’ to big challenges. They are learning how to take good care of the present moment, which means they will know how to take good care of the future.
It is said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Our youth have not only taken the first step, they have already taken a thousand steps; steps that will ensure a great future for themselves, for their communities and for our country.
When Galileo saw the stars for the first time through the telescope, he said, “I give infinite thanks to my God, who in His mercy, has made me the first observer of such marvelous things.”
I too give thanks. I give thanks for our youth. I give thanks that I can be a witness to their ever growing awareness of their giftedness and potential. I give thanks that I have been given an opportunity to help empower their dreams. I give thanks that I can be “…an observer of such marvelous things.”
I invite you to join us in this new American Spring as part of Congressional Award. Join us and see how your world will enlarge, expand and increase. Join us and realize your greatest potential come to fruition. Join us and celebrate the great things that American youth are doing. Come be a part of something great, something worthwhile, something lasting.
I look forward to meeting you in Washington DC when you receive your well-earned Gold Medal!
~Adam Ruiz
CAF Board of Directors Member
Start with running. In ninth grade I was no sportsman: too lanky for football, too short for basketball, too uncoordinated for soccer. I was the studious type. By default I ran cross-country, but I treated it as a chore and not a passion; another required class in high school. I dreaded the bitter sprints on grey evenings and the cold slap of grainy mud on my calves. I hated the smell of the locker room and the velvety feel of running shorts. And I tried most days to avoid the glare of the coach who in my freshman eyes stood as silent taskmaster, clipboard in hand, judging our progress from his perch in the gazebo on the hill high above the sports fields.
