Cherokee HS Student Wins Congressional Bronze Medal

From CCSD: Cherokee HS freshman Rebekah Seng was presented the Congressional Award, Bronze Medal on May 1 at the school by Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk of the 11th District. Rebekah, who is a member of the JROTC program at Cherokee HS, received the award in a small ceremony in the JROTC classroom with her parents and special guests. Only 18 students in Georgia qualified for the Bronze Medal this year. The Congressional Award is the highest voluntary award from the United States Congress that a U.S. teenager can earn; the medals are awarded at the bronze, silver and gold levels. The Congressional Award Bronze Medal requires 50 hours of documented activity in Physical Fitness, 50 hours of documented time in Personal Development (learning something new), and 100 documented hours of Volunteer Service to an organization(s) that serves the greater community. In addition, applicants must complete a minimum two-day exploration/expedition activity that is completely planned and carried out by the applicant-- all within a seven-month window. JROTC Retired Colonel Eddy Stanfill was Rebekah's advisor for the award.To complete the Physical Fitness requirements, Rebekah participated as a member of the Cherokee HS Varsity Swim team. She also completed Physical Training (PT) with her JROTC class, and worked out on her own. To meet the requirements for the Personal Development portion, Rebekah learned multiple new computer programming languages and programmed a computer game. For the Volunteer Service portion of the requirements, Rebekah volunteered during the summer at the Cherokee County Senior center, planning and carrying out various activities for the senior citizens and Veterans including arts and crafts and social events. She also worked with her JROTC unit to serve the community by parking cars for football games, selling concessions at the Rome Air Show, and laying wreaths at the National Cemetery among other community activities. She also volunteered with the Cherokee high school Beta club and served at the local Humane Society Animal Shelter.

To complete the expedition/exploration requirement, Rebekah planned an eight-day Early American History experience covering Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown, Virginia, as well as Washington, DC. Upon her return home, she was required to write a report describing what she had learned from her expedition and how the experience had helped her to grow as a person and U.S. Citizen.Rebekah is already well on her way to completing the requirements for the next level of the Congressional Award, the Silver Medal, and she has a personal goal to earn the Congressional Award Gold Medal by May, 2019.

Images Via CCSD