Simsbury woman receives congressional award
Julie Kaplan, a 2017 Simsbury High School graduate, has received the Congressional Award Gold Medal - the highest honor a member of the United States Senate or House of Representatives may bestow upon a youth civilian.
Kaplan, who is senior at Arizona State University and currently interning at an investment bank in New York City, has dedicated more than 1,400 hours of service - part of the award’s criteria - including public service, personal development, physical fitness, and expedition/exploration.
“I’m very humbled and honored to get this award. It’s a pretty big honor,” Kaplan said, adding that she found out she earned the honor over a Zoom call with her mother, who opened the package for her.
“I was elated,” she said. “The moment I realized all of my hard work had an ending, was a moment I’ll never forget.”
For the public service section, Kaplan volunteered as a telephone operator and listener for a crisis hotline, which included callers coping with suicide, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and domestic violence. She has filled this capacity since age 16, and said it might not be exactly what people think it is.
“Your first instinct is to tell callers your advice,” she said. “That’s everything we’re trained not to do. Our job is to listen. Listening is most powerful tool in the world, and is just as, if not more, important than speaking.”
For personal development, which Kaplan said was the most enjoyable category, she expanded her horizons by pursuing her interests including performing magic tricks, making the perfect snickerdoodle, and origami.
“I also wrote a lot of short stories about time travel,” she said.
For physical fitness, the competitive fencer pushed herself to be the best she could be in her sport, eventually competing in the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Israel, where she earned a bronze medal in 2017.
“This award encouraged me to become a better athlete,” she said.
For exploration, she was required to immerse herself in a new culture, and took a three-week solo journey across Colombia, South America.
“It’s here that I really gained an appreciation for democracy, and all of the freedoms that come with being an America,” she said, adding that she has also visited India, Vietnam, and the Ukraine.
Kaplan was somewhat familiar with what the award required. Her older brother, Max, had also earned the award as a high school student in 2013.
She said she asks herself every day what she can do to make herself a better person, and the world a better place.
“I feel like I’d be doing all of these things anyway, but this award definitely encourages them,” she said. “The impact on my life has been profound, and I imagine it’s been similarly impactful to the youth all over the country who have also pursued it.”
Kaplan is invited to a Gold Medal ceremony for Congressional Award Gold Medal recipients, which will be held next June in Washington, D.C. Her award will be presented by the members of the Senate and House of Representatives. In addition, her achievement will be recorded into the Congressional Record by the Senate Majority Leader.
While working toward combining her professional and personal goals, Kaplan said she’ll definitely always be service-oriented.
“I’ve been given so much in my life,” she said. “I am grateful for all of the opportunities that I’ve had, and if I can do something to make the world better, that’s what I’m going to do.”
For more information, visit www.congressionalaward.org.
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