At the age of 13, Abraham Ott made a four-year commitment to the National Leadership Council through his church, joining 14 other students from around the country.

As part of the journey, he earned the Congressional Award, which honors initiative, achievement and service by young people ages 14 to 24. On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, presented the 16-year-old with the bronze medal in a ceremony in front of the La Plata County Courthouse. Abe is the only student in the 3rd Congressional District to earn the medal this year, Tipton said, and as far as Abe knows, the only Durango student to have ever earned it.

“We spend far too little time on youths who are doing the right thing,” Tipton told 30 people gathered for the presentation. “When I was his age, you did what you were told when it came to community service. But Abe did this of his own volition, leading to understanding, knowing himself better and being able to give back.”

Abe completed the requirements for the award in conjunction with the council through the Church of Christ, Scientist, which selects 15 students from around the country who work together and individually as a class to earn the award.

The award requires young people to set goals and achieve them in the categories of voluntary public service, physical fitness, personal development and expedition/exploration. It is not a competition, it is an accomplishment.

Anyone in the age group is eligible, and it doesn’t have to be through a group – as it has been for Abe. Goals can be tailored for personal situations such as disabilities and socioeconomic levels. A particular grade-point average or test score is not a requirement, but having an adult mentor is.

“God bless them, they’re so young and have a lot going on,” said Abe’s mentor for the program, retired Durango High School teacher Susan Brown. “They’re writing up these goals, and it’s such adult thinking.”

Minimum requirements for the bronze medal include 100 hours of community service, 50 hours of personal development and physical fitness activities and at least one overnight expedition, all accomplished during certain periods of time.

“It’s a whole lot of doin’,” Brown said with a laugh. “There are so many details, lots of records to keep.”

Faith and leadership

“This is one facet of his National Leadership Council commitment,” Brown said. “It shows character and encourages values in just the right way. In some ways, it’s parallel to what the Boy Scouts do, but some of this is more driven by the student.”

Abe’s older brother, Gunther Ott, 20, dropped out of the National Leadership Council program after two years, in large part because of a year spent in boarding school, but Abe is on schedule to graduate next year, Brown said. He will be the first local student to do so.

“The personal development factor is where Christian Science comes in,” Brown said. “We use a leadership curriculum called MICEE, ‘Model the way, Inspire the vision, Challenge the process, Enable others to act and Encourage the heart.’”

Abe still has work to do for his council graduation. He will spend eight weeks as a counselor-in-training this summer at a camp near Buena Vista, and he continues to have monthly conference calls, retreats and a church involvement project to complete. The bronze medal is one requirement he has finished.

“It’s taken a lot of work to get to this point,” Abe said as he accepted his medal. “It inspires me to be an outstanding community member in general.”

Abe’s parents, John and Julie James Ott, said the commitment to go for the council program, including the Congressional Award, was their son’s idea. He already has been inspirational – his younger brother, Stanton, 13, has been accepted to the council and already has recruited his mentor, retired Maj. Gen. Kathy Thomas.

An extensive résumé

Abe’s primary volunteer service was spending five days building a schoolroom in Miski Uno, Peru, during summer 2012 through Peru Challenge. He organized a fundraiser to pay for the trip.

“The village is just outside Cuzco at about 14,000 feet,” he said. “It’s outside the tourist bubble, so it’s not benefiting from that money.”

Abe also is a member of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board and president of the Animas Valley 4-H Club, which includes community-service activities in the county.

As a member of the Durango Nordic Ski Club, he trains year-round and competes around the state, far exceeding the physical-fitness requirement by putting in more than 400 hours. As for the expedition requirement, Abe’s whole National Leadership Council class came to Southwest Colorado.

“We spent two weeks in the Weminuche (Wilderness),” he said. “We also exceeded the expedition requirement.”

A nonpartisan award

The Congressional Award Act was signed into law in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter after being approved by bipartisan votes of both houses of Congress. Every president since then has signed renewals.

“The Congressional Award receives no federal funding,” the Congressional Award organization says on its website. “It is fully funded by charitable contributions. Congress does assist the program by authorizing the U.S. Mint to strike the medals presented to recipients.”

Tipton said the medal is one of the few ways he has to recognize outstanding young people in his district, another being a nomination to the service academies.

“It is so rewarding to recognize their achievement,” he said, looking around, “and with big support from family and community, too.”

abutler@durangoherald.com