CHEYENNE, Wyo.- Seventy Wyoming students received the Congressional Gold Medal Award, Congress’ most prestigious honor for youth this year.
Of those 70, 44 traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Congressional Award Gold Medal Ceremony held at the U.S. Capitol Visitor’s Center Congressional Auditorium on June 20. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, Senator John Barrasso, M.D., and Representative Liz Cheney met with and gave Gold Medals to students at the special recognition event.
At the June ceremony, members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives honored 538 youth across 42 states and territories at the ceremony, including the 44 students who traveled from Wyoming. The 2019 Gold Medal class was the largest in the national program’s 40-year history, representing an unprecedented year of servant leadership. This year’s class contributed 295,206 volunteer hours to their communities, an average of 548 hours per medalist.
The Gold Medal represents the pinnacle of Congress’ award program for youth. The honor requires that each recipient embarks on a two year goal-setting journey, logging a minimum of 400 hours of Voluntary Public Service, 200 hours of Personal Development and Physical Fitness, respectively, and a 5 day, 4-night Expedition/Exploration.
Wyoming Gold Medalists included the following:
Six from Albany County:
- Alice Attebery, Laramie
- Noah Dreiling, Laramie
- Sydney Holles, Laramie
- Michaiah Jones, Laramie
- Carmen Leon, Laramie
- Cody Perkins, Laramie
Three from Campbell County:
- Caroline Johnson, Gillette
- Makala Johnson, Gillette
- Chloe Rankin, Gillette
Three from Carbon County:
- Kamry Knotwell, Encampment
- Makaylah Berkovitz, Rawlins
- Selena Landa, Rawlins
Two from Goshen County:
- Logan Grosz, Torrington
- Samantha Jurkowski, Torrington
Seven students from Natrona County:
- Andrew Gronning, Casper
- Jayla Johnson, Casper
- Katie Johnson, Casper
- Taylor Maese, Casper
- Audrey Mitchell, Casper
- Quentin Moter, Casper
- Johanna Moter, Evansville
Three students from Park County:
- Adelle Ostrom, Cody
- Kathryn Sauerwein, Cody
- Kendra Ostrom, Powell
Five from Sweetwater County:
- Lane Hutchison, Green River
- Alyssa Bedard, Rock Springs
- Lorin Jones, Rock Springs
- Megan Leavitt, Rock Springs
- Julianna Pizzato, Rock Springs
39 Students from Laramie County:
- Mercedes Bartels, Burns
- Sydney Bell, Cheyenne
- Abigael Bylow, Cheyenne
- Elijah Cole, Cheyenne
- Mykenzie Dean, Cheyenne
- Samantha Dijohn, Cheyenne
- Abigail Fearneyhough, Cheyenne
- Emma Geringer, Cheyenne
- James Hayes, Cheyenne
- Isabelle Houseman, Cheyenne
- Maeve Knepper, Cheyenne
- Araceli Ledesma, Cheyenne
- Arianna Lewis, Cheyenne
- Zoey Mares, Cheyenne
- Mackenzie Marler, Cheyenne
- Claudia Miller, Cheyenne
- Junuenth Morales, Cheyenne
- Abby Morillon, Cheyenne
- Tommy Neal, Cheyenne
- Thanh Nguyen, Cheyenne
- Tiffany Passehl, Cheyenne
- Ruth Potter, Cheyenne
- Emily Purifoy, Cheyenne
- Haley Purifoy, Cheyenne
- Dylan Raymond, Cheyenne
- Nicole Reyes-Aguilar, Cheyenne
- Grace Ritschard, Cheyenne
- Lauren Salsgiver, Cheyenne
- Camden Schmidt, Cheyenne
- Abigail Shameklis, Cheyenne
- Jakob Shuey, Cheyenne
- Colby Stockton, Cheyenne
- Nicole Talkington, Cheyenne
- Amelia Van Winkle, Cheyenne
- Cassidy Weibel, Cheyenne
- Eleccia Wells, Cheyenne
- Micayla Whitfield, Cheyenne
- Taylor Wilson, Cheyenne
- Alyssa Miller, Pine Bluffs
One student from Teton County
- Jazy Manoukian, Jackson
One student from Uinta County
- Madison Bindl, Fort Bridger
The following 44 Wyoming youth traveled to the nation’s Capitol for the awards ceremony and are pictured in the photos below.
- Five from Albany County: Alice Attebery, Laramie; Noah Dreiling, Laramie; Carmen Leon, Laramie; Sydney Holles, Laramie; and Michaiah Jones, Laramie
- Three from Campbell County: Caroline Johnson, Gillette; Makala Johnson, Gillette; and Chloe Rankin, Gillette
- Two from Carbon County: Selena Landa, Rawlins; Kamry Knotwell, EncampmentOne from Goshen County: Logan Grosz, Torrington
- 22 Students from Laramie County: Mercedes Bartels, Burns; Sydney Bell, Cheyenne; Abigael Bylow, Cheyenne; Elijah Cole, Cheyenne; Abigail Fearneyhough, Cheyenne; James Hayes, Cheyenne; Isabelle Houseman, Cheyenne; Araceli Ledesma, Cheyenne; Arianna Lewis, Cheyenne; Claudia Miller, Cheyenne; Abby Morillon, Cheyenne; Emily Purifoy, Cheyenne; Haley Purifoy, Cheyenne; Dylan Raymond, Cheyenne; Grace Ritschard, Cheyenne; Lauren Salsgiver, Cheyenne; Jakob Shuey, Cheyenne; Colby Stockton, Cheyenne; Nicole Talkington, Cheyenne; Amelia Van Winkle, Cheyenne; Cassidy Weibel, Cheyenne; and Taylor Wilson, Cheyenne
- Four students from Natrona County: Katie Johnson, Casper; Jayla Johnson, Casper; Taylor Maese, Casper; and Audrey Mitchell, Casper
- One student from Park County: Adelle Ostrom, Cody
- Four from Sweetwater County: Alyssa Bedard, Rock Springs; Lorin Jones, Rock Springs; Megan Leavitt, Rock Springs; and Julianna Pizzato, Rock Springs
- One student from Teton County: Jazy Manoukian, Jackson
- One student from Uinta County: Madison Bindl, Fort Bridger