SCRANTON, PA –U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today presented the Congressional Award Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to Jack Morton of Moscow, PA.
“It is my great honor to present these awards to Mr. Morton today,” said Senator Casey. “Jack has shown great dedication to public service personal development. I congratulate Jack and his family on this special occasion.”
In order to receive a Gold Medal, the highest honor and the award being presented to Mr. Morton, one must complete 400 hours of Voluntary Public Service and that activity must be done continually for 24 months; 200 hours of Personal development for a continuing period of 24 months; 200 hours of Physical Fitness for a continuing period of 24 months and at least 4 consecutive overnights on an expedition or exploration activity.
Mr. Morton enrolled in the Congressional Award program in the summer of 2004. Mr. Morton’s goals included:
• 400 hours of voluntary public service. Mr. Morton volunteered with Project WISE (Working in Informal Science Education) as well as with the Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. For the Library of Congress project, he conducted oral interviews with armed services veterans for the Veterans History Project. As a WISE volunteer Mr. Morton worked with others from John Carroll University, Beaumont High School and the International Women’s Air and Space Museum to introduce the youth of Cleveland to informal science.
• 200 hours of personal development. To achieve this goal Mr. Morton learned to use a camera and took photographs for his high school newspaper and eventually became the paper’s photography editor.
• 200 hours of physical fitness. To achieve this goal Mr. Morton participated in his high school’s basketball program and was on both the junior-varsity and varsity teams.
• 12 days of expedition and exploration activity. To achieve this goal Mr. Morton attended a 12-day high-adventure wilderness backpacking trek at the Philmont Scout Ranch, operated by the Boy Scouts of America, in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains, New Mexico.
Jack is 21 years old and will receive his teaching certification in physical education from John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH in the spring of 2011. He plans to attend graduate school to earn a master’s degree in the field of teaching English to speakers of other languages. Ultimately, he hopes to teach English as a second language in an international school setting
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