‘I’m really proud of her’ | Webb High School student earns Congressional Award Gold Medal
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Rose Joseph, a 17-year-old Webb High School student, is one of only four students in Tennessee to earn the Congressional Award Gold Medal, Congress’ highest honor for youth.
Joseph said she was raised not to quit.
“I was always raised to just, like, not be a quitter. Like, if we, like, signed up for something, it’s just, you got to see it through. You got to, you can’t just, like, go halfway,” Joseph said.
Over the past two years, Joseph logged 520 service hours and another 500 hours of personal development and fitness.
Her younger brother, Ian, said he is proud of her.
“I’m really proud of her. And I always thought that she would go into, like, medicine or something because she’s a really caring person and she loves to take care of others,” Ian said.
Joseph volunteered with Remote Area Medical and the East Knox Free Clinic. She helped set up pop-up clinics and traveled with them to help with patient care and shadow doctors.
Her parents are both physicians at UT Medical Center. Her mother said it is rewarding to be known by her daughter.
“It’s almost rewarding to be known by your kid. You know, sometimes we are addressed as Rose’s parents, and it’s kind of fun to hear that side of it,” her mother said.
Finding medical volunteer opportunities was not easy. Joseph was only 14 when she started, and most places require volunteers to be at least 16 or 18 years old.
That challenge led to her next project: a searchable resource to connect Knoxville students with service opportunities, regardless of age. The website will be called Serve 865.
“I just want to be able to connect students that really do want to volunteer and give back to their community,” Joseph said.
Joseph and her family will travel to Washington, D.C., in June to officially receive the medal.
Post a Comment for "‘I’m really proud of her’ | Webb High School student earns Congressional Award Gold Medal"