Advisor and Validators at a glance
| Advisor | Validator | |
|---|---|---|
| How many | One per participant | One for each goal; the same person can validate several |
| When | Agreed before you register, and approves your goals | From the start of the goal; confirms it once you finish |
| Who | A teacher, counselor, coach, club leader, Scout leader, neighbor or family friend | An adult who knows the activity: a coach for a sport, a volunteer coordinator where you serve |
| What they do | Help set goals in all four areas, check in, review the Record Book, validate last | Help set the goal and your starting level, then confirm the hours and months |
Who can serve
Any adult can be an Advisor or Validator except your parents, relatives and peers. Congressional Award Gold Medal earners can serve at any age. You choose them yourself; the national office does not assign them. A Validator should know the activity: a basketball coach for a basketball goal, or an employee or the volunteer coordinator at the animal shelter where you volunteer.
If most of a goal is done on your own or with your family and no one suitable can validate it, your Advisor can. If an umbrella goal spans several organizations, the national office often recommends that your Advisor validate it. For a virtual expedition, you can also send the validation to your Advisor if you cannot find a Validator.
What your Advisor does
- Reviews the requirements with you and helps you set goals in each area that are challenging, achievable, measurable and fulfilling.
- Helps you choose activities and the right Validator for each goal.
- Stays in touch while you work, and helps you set new goals if you need to change one.
- At the end, makes sure your Record Book is complete with every validation, then confirms all your goals and activities on the Advisor validation form.
- Helps you answer any revisions the national office asks for.
What a Validator does
- Talks through the rules for their program area and where you are starting from.
- Makes sure the goal is a real challenge and can be measured.
- Once you meet the hours and months for the goal, reviews your records and confirms them on the Validator validation form.
How to ask someone
Ask someone who sees you regularly and will answer email: Advisors meet with you while you set goals and stay in touch for months. Tell them what the role takes, share the official Advisor and Validator Guide, and bring a draft of your goals. A short message works:
Hi Ms. Rivera, I am starting the Congressional Award, which asks me to set goals in volunteer service, personal development, physical fitness and an expedition. Every participant needs an adult Advisor, not a relative, to help set the goals, check in now and then, and confirm my Record Book at the end through an online form. Would you be willing to be my Advisor? I can send my draft goals and the program’s Advisor guide. Thank you!
The order at the end
- Finish the hours and months for one goal.
- On Submittable, enter that goal’s Validator’s email and send the validation request, with a note on the activities and hours if you like. Validators do not need a Submittable account.
- Repeat for each goal as you finish it. Do not send a request before the goal is done.
- When every Validator has confirmed, send your Advisor’s validation request last.
- If a request does not arrive, school district email addresses are a common cause: use another address, or ask your Advisor to validate instead.
- Submit a complete Record Book. If a revision later adds hours or months, send the validation requests again.
The rest of the form is in how to fill out the Record Book. Validators confirm from your records, so keep dates, hours and what you did for every activity. The Congressional Award tracker keeps them by area with your months of activity: start tracking free, or print the activity log (PDF). Goal ideas to bring to your first Advisor meeting are in Congressional Award goal examples.
Questions the national office can answer
Participants, Advisors and Validators can email information@congressionalaward.org. The office works in a hybrid format, so email gets a quicker answer than a phone call. Program managers also hold monthly regional webinars for questions.
Frequently asked questions
Can my parent be my Congressional Award Advisor?
No. Parents, relatives and peers cannot be Advisors or Validators, and your Record Book asks you to confirm that none of them are family members.
Can a family friend be my Advisor?
Yes. The Program Book lists family friends with neighbors, teachers and coaches as people to ask, as long as they are not related to you.
Can my Advisor also be a Validator?
Yes. Your Advisor can validate a goal on a Validator’s behalf, since they should know your activities, and does so when most of a goal is done on your own or with your family.
Do I need an Advisor before I register?
Yes. The Program Book asks you to find an Advisor who has agreed to the role before you register, and the national office’s FAQ says hours count once you have registered, received your welcome email and had your goals approved by your Advisor.
Can the national office find me an Advisor?
No. It does not match participants with Advisors: finding one is part of the challenge. Pick an adult you know and trust, such as a teacher, counselor, coach, Scout leader, family friend or neighbor.
Do Validators have to sign on paper?
No. Validation requests go by email from Submittable, and Validators and Advisors can confirm without a Submittable account.
Can I change my Advisor?
Yes. Send the new Advisor’s name, email and phone number to your regional program manager, or list the new Advisor on your next Record Book.