Marissa Landon speaks at the 2011 Congressional Award Youth and Technology Dinner in Washington, DC. Marissa, who is currently pursuing her Congressional Award Gold Medal, centered many of her Personal Development hours around various social medias— a major mode of communication used by today’s world.

Behind the lectern, hopefully unseen to the distinguished audience out front, my knees were knocking, my palms were sweating, and my heart was racing. It was a big night, an important night, and one I had been waiting for. The Congressional Award Foundation Youth and Technology Dinner had arrived in full splendor, with delectable food, extraordinary people, and lovely music. I had to pull it together because I was the speaker and I wanted to share an important message. Even though I haven’t yet earned a Medal, I wanted to let everyone know what a difference the Congressional Award Program has made in my life.

The Congressional Award challenges youth to work in four specific program areas; Voluntary Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration. My focus that night was Personal Development. In pursuit of the Congressional Award Gold Medal I chose to become more social media savvy. I am a member of Mississippi’s Technology Team. The team travels around the state helping communities get onboard the social media bandwagon. We share the advantages of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media tools. We assist in putting together a plan and a process for incorporating social media. I love knowing I can make a difference and the Congressional Award has shown me I can be the catalyst for change in the community.

But that’s not all folks… the Congressional Award has opened other doors for me as well. I now look for new ways to give back, I have new friends and contacts, and I work harder at making healthy choices and getting exercise in my day. Oh, and that nerve-wracking speech… well, I got through it and I think the audience liked it. I know that I can face one of the greatest fears identified by many people, public speaking, and I can be a victor. Thanks! Congressional Award for helping make me the confident young lady I am today.

~Marissa Landon Gold Medal Candidate

From left to right: Gold Medalist Alexander Serrano,
Gold Medalist Ashleigh Serrano, U.S. Senator Scott Brown (Massachusetts),
Gold Medalist Catherine Aker, and Gold Medalist Anthony Serrano.

The Congressional Award appealed to me in my youth because of my passion for and commitment to community service. I was always looking for different ways to be involved in community service projects, and when I heard about the Congressional Award from a friend in my home town I thought of it as a natural extension to my interests and knew it was something I wanted to be involved in.

Working to attain goals I set for myself in the categories of Volunteer Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness and Expedition/Exploration was an extremely rewarding experience- one where I met amazing people, organized a successful clothing drive for a homeless shelter, started a profitable jewelry business, was an active member and captain of various varsity sports teams and organized and participated in an expedition/exploration trip – just to name a few of the incredible experiences I was part of during my journey for the Congressional Award. Keeping a journal and logging my hours for the Congressional Award taught me to stay organized and was a great way to reflect on all the hard work I put into my gold medal.

The lessons and experiences I gained from the Congressional Award are ones I have been able to carry with me throughout my life. I found myself using the organizational and time management skills I learned from my time with the Congressional Award during college and being very grateful I had that experience under my belt. Now that I am in the work world, I find myself reverting back to and talking about my experiences with the Congressional Award and how it set me up to have a positive future— the Congressional Award is for people who are willing to work hard and make a difference.

The Congressional Award’s influence on your life does not go away once you receive your award; in fact, receiving the award is just the beginning. Your time with the Congressional Award is the brick work for the foundation of your life. You learn how to challenge yourself, work hard and truly make a difference in other people’s lives and in your own. Everything that you do after is influenced by the Congressional Award, and I really believe that I am a better person because of my experience with the Congressional Award. I hope that you too see the benefits of the Congressional Award and challenge yourself to become a Congressional Award recipient. It will change your life for the better!


~Ashleigh Alexandra L. Serrano
2010 Gold Medalist

Start with running. In ninth grade I was no sportsman: too lanky for football, too short for basketball, too uncoordinated for soccer. I was the studious type. By default I ran cross-country, but I treated it as a chore and not a passion; another required class in high school. I dreaded the bitter sprints on grey evenings and the cold slap of grainy mud on my calves. I hated the smell of the locker room and the velvety feel of running shorts. And I tried most days to avoid the glare of the coach who in my freshman eyes stood as silent taskmaster, clipboard in hand, judging our progress from his perch in the gazebo on the hill high above the sports fields.

When I began working towards the Congressional Award, I used cross-country as my exercise in physical fitness. It seemed a logical choice, and I expected to accumulate my two hundred hours painfully, drearily. But gradually something changed. In seeing my hours tick steadily upwards, I found excitement, satisfaction, accomplishment. I stopped dreading practice. I grew to enjoy the crunch of dead leaves under rubber sneakers and the freshness of grass on misty race days and the taste of copper and tin – the taste of exertion – present in each athletic breath. I grew stronger.

The Congressional Award had given me both a goal and the opportunity for self-reflection. I had been running because I was required to: because school policy forced every student to play a sport. But those award hours gave me something to strive for. I began to wonder why I was working for them, and the answers I discovered changed the way I thought of the sport. I began to run because it was healthy. Because it taught self-discipline. And yes: because maybe, just maybe, it could even be fun.

Another part of my outlook changed as well, in a more important way. My coach became my validator, and in turning to him I began to see him not as an overseer but as a mentor. And he, seeing the newfound sense of passion I brought to the field, began to challenge me and help me grow. He guided me as I passed through high school, becoming not only my coach but my teacher, my advisor, my college recommendation writer.

The value of building relationships with advisors seems self-explanatory to me now, but I forget sometimes that this skill was learned, and that at one point in my life I was that silly thirteen year old, who needed a gentle push towards taking advice. For the Congressional Award, which gave me that push, I am grateful.

-Kevin Suyo
2007 Gold Medalist