John Richard Caridad was honored with the Congressional Award Gold Medal at the Capital in Washington, D.C. on June 19, 2008

Selected as a Hugh O'Brian Youth Ambassador, John represented Virginia and served as a World Leadership Ambassador in Washington D.C. John was President of Junior State and started several organizations.

Operation Gratitude has also benefitted from John’s volunteering. He assisted in collecting and preparing Care packages for our troops. He’s the co-founder of Operation Airborne Angels, in coordination with the Los Angeles Police Department Airborne Division. Through this organization, John solicited private donations to provide help to orphans in Mexico and underprivileged youth in America.

He was honored to be selected to attend Presidential Classroom in National Security at Georgetown University. John was also named as one of thirty leaders in the United States to attend The Economics for Leaders Program at William and Mary University in Williamsburg, Virginia.

As a nationally competing Power-lifter, John holds four Virginia State Records!  He was rated in the top 10% of defensive lineman in the nation, according to the Nike SPARQ Combine.  He also founded "Athletes Taking Action" - speaking to underprivileged students at inner city schools, providing motivation and mentorship.

John just graduated from LSS and will attend George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, in the fall. This amazing young man plans to major in Government and International Politics and minor in Sports Management. He will also play football at GMU.

We're extremely proud of John's accomplishments.