DIOCESAN NEWS
09/19/08
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Thomas Kazery earns Congressional Gold Medal
By Fabvienen Taylor
      JACKSON — Initially, and typically for a young person, the thought of playing violin at a nursing home didn’t appeal that much to Thomas Kazery, 18.
     “I thought oh, it is going to be sad because there are a lot of sick people there,” said Kazery.
     “Now I love it,” said the freshman violin performance major at Belhaven College.
     “Once we were there I gained a new perspective. We brought a little happiness into the lives of the people in the nursing home and we shared things with them about school and about running,” he said. “I realized they were once just like me.”
     The “we” Kazery is talking about are his brothers Newman, 20, and Peter, 17, who play the violin, and his grandmother, Anne, who plays piano.
     Youngest brother William, 15, goes along too. But he plays a different kind of music that goes — Swoosh! That’s the sound one hears as he zooms by in a 5k race on his way to collecting a medal.
     Collecting medals is nothing new to the Kazery boys who all do community service and have earned awards, not only for running, but for Eagle Scout, Ad Atare Dei (Catholic Boy Scout award) and the Congressional Awards.
     In June, Thomas was one of five Mississippians and less than 200 youth nationally to earn the Congressional Award Gold Medal, which he picked up on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
     There he met the other medal winners, attended a professional soccer game and toured museums and monuments.
     “My favorite was the Holocaust Museum which I would like to go back to. My second favorite was the Aerospace Museum at the Smithsonian,” he said.
     Newman, before heading off to college, had earned bronze and silver Congressional Awards.
     According to its website, (www.congressionalaward.org) the Congressional Award is a public private partnership created by Congress to promote and recognize achievement, initiative, and service in America’s youth.
     The Congressional Award provides a unique opportunity for young people to set and achieve personally challenging goals that build character and foster community service, personal development, and citizenship.
     Various organizations such as the 4-H Clubs, Boy and Girl Scouts and People to People International partner with the award to provide youth with opportunities to do service and earn the awards.
     Among his various activities, including being an altar server and performing concerts with his brothers at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Thomas especially enjoyed the three summers he worked with the Cub Scout Day Camp and was a merit badge counselor.
     “It was a lot of fun and I felt like I was a was a role model for them,” he said, “so I had to keep myself in line and be a good example.”
     Thomas said working with the younger children peaked his interest in teaching.
     “I like the look on their faces when you’ve explained something to them and they finally get it. You can see it in their eyes, on their faces,” he said.
     Thomas’ parents are Don and Terri.
     “We are really truly proud of all of them,” said their father. “They have all done really well.”
     Earning the Congressional Award Gold Medal does not signal the end of Thomas’ tradition of service.
     “Community service is so important. You not only help people and get to see the smiles on their faces, but it helps build character. If you do it, you’ll find out you like it.”

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