During his W4 class one day, Gabriel Cervoni was informed that he had been awarded the Congressional Award Gold Medal—Congress’ highest honor for civilian youth.
“I checked my email and saw something that said ‘congratulations.’ I was hopeful that it was the award, and when I opened it, it was. I was super excited that I passed all the required national committees,” Cervoni said.
Congress’ only non-profit, the Congressional Award, was established in 1979 with the purpose of honoring young Americans who demonstrate exemplary qualities worthy of recognition.
“I feel satisfied that all of my past work for the community and my personal life has been recognized, and I’m overall very happy that I took the time to fill out the award’s application,” Cervoni said.
To qualify for this award, you must be between the ages of 13 and a half through 23 years old and be willing to work hard to achieve goals meant to challenge yourself. These goals must fall under four different categories: Voluntary Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration, and they may be set according to your interests and abilities.
Once the qualifications are met, you may be eligible to earn the award after completing a minimum of 400 hours of Voluntary Public Service, 200 hours of Personal Development, and 200 hours of Physical Fitness. You are also required to spend at least 5 days and 4 nights exploring a new environment or culture, and you must work toward achieving this award consistently over the course of 24 months. For Cervoni, he began serving his community not because of the award but because of the activities he was already involved in.
“In scouts, I participated in a lot of projects that helped the community just because I had the free time for them,” Cervoni said. “For swimming, I was required to volunteer for a year as a coach.
Naturally, the amount of required hours poses many difficulties for any of the interested applicants, and it was no less of a struggle for Cervoni.
“I faced challenges with combining all of my service hours that I have completed over the last 4 years because I had not kept a reliable log, not only for service hours but also for personal development and physical activity,” Cervoni said. “The application process was also long and complicated, and I needed to revise the application a few times before it got to the national committee for approval.”
Nevertheless, Cervoni was able to complete all of his service hours in each of the categories. Voluntary Public Service includes willingly spending your free time and sharing your talents with the community, especially for its growth and benefit. Additionally, hours spent toward Personal Development may develop your social and life skills as well as any interests or hobbies you may have, and the hours required for Physical Fitness may be spent in any way that benefits your health and lifestyle. These hours should all greatly benefit yourself and your community in a way that creates a healthier, more positive environment for everyone.
“[Community service] has made me appreciate the smaller things in life and see that every little bit can be helpful. It also helped me grow friendships and relationships with many people in my community while working for the same cause,” Cervoni said.
Cervoni was awarded the Congressional Award Gold Medal after setting his own goals and enabling his own growth and development. He completed all of the minimum hours for each category as well as the required 5 days and 4 nights of exploration through his love of swimming and scouts.
“Earning my Congressional Award has really helped me develop and grow in several ways. I originally started swimming for my local team, hoping to improve my times and technique. I was able to do that, but there, I also found my passion for teaching and coaching,” Cervoni said.
As a coach, he helped dozens of younger kids achieve their swimming goals, and through scouts, he became very involved in community service by helping out with food drives, hikes, service projects, and more. Through this, Cervoni “learned how to be a better leader” and was able to develop organizational skills that paired very well with his responsibilities.
“I have now been elected as the top youth leader of the troop, leading and organizing all our community service,” Cervoni said. “I recently led a crew of five scouts on a 15-day backpacking expedition across more than 100 miles in New Mexico.”
Cervoni will attend the three-day gold medal ceremony in Washington D.C. this July, where he and the other recipients will be honored for their hard work and accomplishments. Looking to the future, he plans to continue his efforts to improve both his lifestyle and community through his coaching and scouts, actively pursuing positive change in his life as well as others’.
“I always think back to all of the things I did, and it makes me feel so happy that I started them all,” Cervoni said. “I just feel so accomplished and proud of all that I have done, and I couldn’t feel more honored to have earned this award.”
