Presidential Recognition for East Hampton Senior

senior Mikayla Mott's volunteer service has earned the recognition of none other than the President of the United States.

Mott, who volunteers at the teaching those with handicaps, has been presented with the President's Volunteer Service Award, which recognized Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to service their communities and their country. She has been presented with the award by the Prudential Spirit Community Awards program, the country's largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service, on behalf of President Barack Obama.

“I am never surprised in the amount of commitment and dedication our students have towards their academics and community service," high school principal Adam Fine said on Thursday. "Mikayla is model student who has achieved success both academically and through various community service endeavors.”

A star swimmer who is headed to Nationals this coming April, Mott is used to getting attention for her skills in the water. But that's not all she uses them for. She volunteers with the Adaptive Aquatics program every Wednesday evening at the , where she helps teach children and adults with mental and physical handicaps how to handle themselves in the water.

Mott, who was , has been swimming on the Hurricanes swim team since she was 7 years old, representing the YMCA. She also swims for the school team from September through November.

Graduating in June, Mott, who is 18, is still deciding on where to attend college, according to her mother. She is the daughter of Laura and Tom Mott.

According to the program's website, its "goals are to applaud young people who already are making a positive difference in their towns and neighborhoods, and to inspire others to think about how they might contribute to their communities." More than 310,000 students have participated over 16 years, with close to 100,000 of them being recognized.