By Annie Goodykoontz

   At first glance, the requirements for the Congressional Award gold medal  may seem impossible. However, four Tempe Prep students achieved this milestone in 2021: Sierra Smith, Violeta Panayotova, Hannah Matsumoto from the class of 2021 and current junior Theresa O’Connor.  

   The requirements for the Gold Medal award are 400 volunteer hours, 200 hours of physical fitness, 200 hours of personal development, and a five-day and four-night expedition and exploration. Although this award seems like a daunting undertaking, Theresa shares her experience with the program. Earning this prestigious award may be within your reach.

   Theresa says she earned her Gold Medal in the fall of her sophomore year but started working for it when she was 13 and a half. “The most challenging area of achieving the Gold Medal was certainly the 400-hour volunteer requirement,” she says. Yet she was able to fulfill her volunteer requirement by dedicating her time to Saving One Life, a non-profit organization that finds forever homes for cats and dogs throughout Arizona and California.  She said, “As part of my volunteer shift, I sanitized kennels, filled food and water bowls, scooped litter boxes, cleaned the center, and of course interacted and socialized with the kittens.” Theresa even got to finalize adoptions.

   Theresa also explains that a lot of school activities she participated in coincided with the personal development and physical fitness requirements. “There are so many opportunities for students to find volunteer projects around campus and many extracurriculars that I participated in, including Speech and Debate and Newspaper that fit into personal development,” she said. “I recommend that students participate in this program because you are essentially earning awards for activities you already do in school.”

The next Tempe Prep Congressional Award Club meeting will be held on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in the TPA Auditorium.