The Congressional Award has made a major impact on me both personally and professionally because it taught me about personal responsibility and the values of living a life that impacts the world around me. The self motivation and goal setting required to achieve the award and skills that will serve me in everything that I do.
I completed several different goals in order to achieve the requirements for the Congressional Award but it was my volunteer work that has had the longest lasting impact on me. I continue to volunteer with local organizations and causes. During my time as a volunteer coach, I learned so much about why service is important. There are so many less fortunate people in our communities and sometimes all they need is someone to believe in them or someone to listen. The relationships built through this experience are far more rewarding and longer lasting than any pay check could ever be.
The Gold Medal Ceremony and Gold Nation Program are by far some of the nicest events that I have ever attended. The staff members of the Congressional Award are first class men and women. They are mentors for young people across the nation and they are overshadowed by the program itself but without them this operation would not be possible.
The best advice I can give current program participants is to keep working hard because they will never regret it. The Congressional Award is a testimony to the motivation and worth of every participant, supporter, staff member and volunteer.
I currently serve as Dean of Students for Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, TX. Lon Morris is a private two-year institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
~Kent Willis
2009 Congressional Award Gold Medalist
A Testimony to Motivation and Worth: 2009 Gold Medalist Kent Willis
A Legacy of Volunteer Work: 2011 Bronze Medalist & AmeriCorps Member Michael Collins
AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) program.
Each year, hundreds of young Corps members earn a
Congressional Award through their AmeriCorps NCCC Service.
I participated in the Congressional Award through the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. Upon entering the program, I was told that I was now part of a legacy of volunteer work. It was made clear to me, to wear my uniform everyday to wear the “A” was an honor, one honor I should respect and be proud of. At first, I had doubts about this sentiment, but what was really going on was I could not understand what was meant by it. That was until I was sent to work with the Red Cross due to the massive flooding along the Mississippi River.
In the first meeting I attended with my team at Headquarters, the head of the Red Cross operation expressed how excited she was to have an NCCC team on site. She had worked with NCCC before and knew the attitude we would be bring to the job. An attitude of getting things done no matter how small or large, no matter how difficult, and no matter how long. Her praise resulted in a roaring round of applause from the rest of the volunteers in the room. I remember feeling silly because I felt I had not done anything yet. But that is when it hit me. By pledging ten months of my life to this program and volunteer service, I had become a part of something much bigger than I had realized. The feeling was humbling. It was some months later, while at a completely separate project in my NCCC term, that I thought again of the words spoken about us at the Red Cross. My team was working hard to fulfill a task when our sponsor had to ask us to stop working so he could finally head home for the day. Without realizing it, my teammates and I had developed the attitude the woman from the red cross had attributed to us long before we knew what it meant. Before we were aware of it, she had known about the “A” and the people who accept the challenge of putting it on everyday.
The truth is in order to make your community and your country become a better place you cannot always be concerned about what you are doing. The beauty of this program is when I was having a bad day, allowing my frustrations to create the illusion that the job my team had been assigned was meaningless, there was no doubt a team somewhere else, working overtime as hard as they could in order to improve the lives of those around them. There are jobs that need to get done and it may seem like almost anyone holds the ability to do them. Yet, what participants in the Congressional Award Program and AmeriCorps come to learn, is that it takes a special talent to have the motivation and dedication to actually buckle down and get tasks done.
~Michael Collins
2011 Bronze Medalist and AmeriCorps NCCC Corps member
Michael (right), is congratulated by his
parents after earning his Bronze Medal.
Good for our Students - Good for our Community: Wiley Dobbs, CAF Board of Directors member
In December of 1993, I was the principal at O’Leary Junior High School in Twin Falls, Idaho. A parent came to me and asked me if I would be interested in a program called “The Congressional Award.” I told her I would look at it and unenthusiastically threw it in my pile of programs to look at. The parent was Linda Norris, an aide to then-U.S. Representative Mike Crapo. As promised, I reviewed the information she gave me and fell in love on the spot with the Congressional Award Program!
What’s not to love? The Congressional Award is voluntary, individual, and non-competitive. Whether academically gifted or challenged; affluent or impoverished; physically fit or disabled; enthusiastic about school or bored — anyone ages 13½ to 23 can participate. The program is universal. Students do not win the award; they earn it. Most of all, I liked the idea that it accentuated the positive things that so many of the young people in our nation are already doing. I was delighted to become involved in a program that recognizes the good things young people do.
In 2009, after 16 years serving on the Board of Directors of Idaho’s Council, I was appointed to the national United States Congressional Award Foundation Board of Directors by U.S. Senate Minority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell.
This is truly an outstanding program, and I have tried to give every student in our school district the opportunity to participate. I have served as an Advisor to hundreds of students through the years and have recruited other educators in our district to do the same. I am proud that the Twin Falls School District has the highest percentage of involvement in the nation and that Idaho is a leading state. The Congressional Award Program is good for our students - and good for our community. Thousands upon thousands of hours of community service have been contributed by young adults in our area as they have worked in the program.
In addition, the Congressional Award Program is a family affair. Both of our sons, Dylan and Austin, are in high school now. They have earned their Silver Medals and are close to achieving their Gold. My wife and I look forward to joining them in Washington DC one day soon to watch as they receive the highest award presented by the Congress of the United States.
~Wiley Dobbs
Advisor and member of CAF Board of Directors
