By Trisha Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Isaac Stricker is a young man who sets goals.
He came to that realization when he was 11, and he joined the Boy Scouts.
“I had not been in very long before I realized I would like to eventually be an Eagle Scout,” said Stricker, a Burlington resident.
The level of Eagle scout is the highest level in scouting, and it requires hard work, concentration, and a good deal of time.
Stricker felt he was ready for the challenge, and he accomplished it.
When he was a freshman at Villa Madonna, he found out from a friend in scouting that the United States Congress offers a series of medals, bronze, silver and gold, to any young person who is willing to put in some hard work and achieve the awards.
Congress established these awards in 1979 to bring attention to initiative, achievement, and service for young people. The original legislation was bipartisan, and was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter, and continued by each president thereafter.
Four categories are involved in the challenge to achieve a medal; voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness and expedition/exploration.
Any young person, ages 14 to 23, can earn the Congressional Award because goals are set based on individual interest, need, and ability. This is not a competition–each student has to earn the award.
As of this time, over 9 million hours of service has been contributed to communities across the United States through the Congressional Award Program. Currently there are over 45,000 young people enrolled in the program.
Stricker is one of 732 in the country who received the gold medal this year, and he said about 3000 young people get some level of the award each year.
The deadline for the award was March 15, and Stricker was notified in early May. He was not able to attend the ceremony in Washington DC, so the medal was sent to his congressman, Thomas Massie, and Bob Porter, from his office, set up a ceremony at the Boone County Fiscal Court, where Judge Executive Gary Moore presented the award to Stricker before a special caucus meeting. Porter said this is the first time in Congressman Massie’s tenure that this medal has been awarded in his district.
“It is amazing that you have done these things, Isaac,” Judge Moore stated at the meeting. “I want to congratulate you, and let you know just how excited I am that a Boone County resident is doing these things, and we’re very proud of you.”
The award procedure works with other organizations, such as the Boy Scouts, and the Girl Scouts, 4H, Americorps NCCC, and others.
“I set my goal for the gold medal, so I had to structure 800 hours, 400 hours of community service, 200 hours in what they call personal development, and 200 hours in physical fitness,” he explained. “Then, for the gold medal, there is an additional 5 day four night exploration, basically a trip that you plan, to experience something new and different.”
For his trip, Stricker planned a kayak trip for the family in Pensacola, Florida.
“So we did some sea kayaking on the ocean, and then we did some other kayaking,” he said. “We have kayaked before, but never like that before. It was very different. The wind was very intense. I planned it with the weather in mind, but the wind was unexpected. They said it was 10 mph, but I think we battled the wind and the tide.”
He said there was a very detailed plan that he had to make, then he had to document all parts of the trip, before and after.
“It was a lot of fun,” Stricker said, looking back on the trip. “I enjoyed it.”
For personal development, he said he helped to train leaders in the scouts. There is a program called National Youth Leadership Training that was a week long overnight training held at Camp Michaels in Union.
At school, Stricker is the captain of his academic team for Governor’s Cup, a team he has been a part of since the third grade, but now, as captain, he is responsible for bringing the knowledge together and strategizing how to move his teammates around to produce the best results.
He has also been a part of a program with the Campbell County District court where he and other students participate in teen court, helping other teens who have been charged with misdemeanors. He said it is their job to help the teens go through the sentencing part of their court experience.
Stricker is also on the cross country running team at Villa Madonna, which helped to satisfy his physical fitness requirement. Last weekend his team placed first at a competition downstate.
One of the projects he is most proud of is the butterfly house he built at the Environmental and Nature Preserve in Boone County across from Central Park. This is no little birdhouse on a pole. This house is 10 feet by 12 feet by 10 feet high.
“You can see it from the road,” he said. “I knew I wanted to build something, to leave something behind, and I believe strongly in protecting the environment. It is specifically for attracting Monarch butterflies on their journey through the area.”
Stricker is 17 now, and since he is a senior in high school, he and his parents are in the middle of visiting colleges. He said he would like to apply to about 10 colleges. Scholarships are awarded in the spring.
Currently he thinks he might like to be a lawyer, but engineering and business are also vying for his attention.
Stricker hopes that his actions inspire others. His mother said that his brother Ethan looks up to him, but Stricker knows he is a role model for others, too, and he likes it, although what he has accomplished is something he personally wanted to do.
All along the way, Stricker has had people who he can ask for advice, whether it was his parents, friends, or scout leaders, help that he has appreciated. He has had to have people testify to the things he has accomplished as a requirement for the award.
“We were honored to facilitate Isaac’s Gold Medal award, which he received from Representative Massie and the US Congress,” Judge Moore said. “It’s clear he has a very bright future ahead–and we look forward to watching all that is in store for him.”
The future indeed looks bright for Isaac Stricker. He is just getting started, and with a mindset like his, of always striving for the best he can do, and making the world a better place, he will go far.
One of the paragraphs in the explanatory portion of the awards states the necessary qualifications that apply to to the person Stricker is:
“Congressional Award recipients represent the best of America. They do not necessarily have the greatest athletic or academic achievements. They only need to commit to bettering themselves and to giving back to their local communities. It is the making and fulfillment of that commitment that makes these young people so extraordinary.”