A good pattern for life: Lily Harris earns Congressional Award Gold Medal

"Being curious and excited about life" is something that's very important to Lily Harris, as well as always "wrapping everything up in service."

Harris had the opportunities to do these things through participating in the Congressional Award program for the past two and a half years, which culminated in her receiving the Congressional Award Gold Medal at the 2023 Gold Medal Summit in Washington, D.C. at the end of June.

Ready to start her junior year at Green River High School in the fall, Harris was one of the youngest recipients of the gold medal at this year's summit, completing the highest level of the program designed for youth aged 13 to 23.

The highest honor

The Congressional Award is a program sponsored by the United States Congress, encouraging young people to set and keep goals and engage in acts of service.

"The Congressional Award is the United States Congress' only charity and the highest honor bestowed upon a youth civilian through the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives," a press release about the recent summit explained. "Established by Congress as a public-private partnership in 1979 under Public Law 96-114, the program recognizes initiative, service, and achievement in youth."

Harris explained that she had multiple sponsors and advisors that she reported to during her time in the program. She also had to complete a detailed write-up of her activities, which was submitted to a board in Washington, D.C.

Through her hard work, Harris earned the bronze, silver, and gold awards.

Harris attended a Wyoming Congressional Award banquet and ceremony in Cheyenne, then went to the national Gold Summit in D.C. She was able to spend almost a week in the nation's capital, meeting delegates from other states, attending panel discussions, going to a baseball game, touring the Capitol building, and sightseeing at the national mall and Smithsonian museums. The trip culminated with attending the awards dinner at the Reagan Building, which included multiple special speakers such as Major General Charles F. Bolden, a retired Marine Corps Major General and the 12th NASA Administrator, as well as Olivia Roberts from the Office of the Vice President and Senator Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming.

One of Harris's favorite parts of the visit to D.C. was getting to go to the Holocaust museum. This was possible with help from her older sister Mary who met up with them in D.C. and helped them navigate and get museum tickets. Mary is also a previous gold congressional winner, and Harris realized her sister's example may have been part of her inspiration for joining the program in the first place, but she also was drawn to what the program stands for and accomplishes.

"It's a really good program for setting goals and then keeping them, and it's just a good pattern for life," Harris said. "And it involves a lot of community service, which I also believe strongly in."

Growing and serving

Harris completed a number of projects and adventures during her time in the program, which involves completing goals in areas like learning, physical fitness, service and exploration.

Learning how to play the ukulele and guitar was one of the ways Harris challenged herself.

For physical fitness, Harris tried multiple sports and participated in camps and training. So far she has lettered in four high school sports, and she keeps adding new ones. But one of the highlights was joining the first ever girls wrestling team at GRHS last year.

"It was so fun and so exciting and really, really hard," Harris said of wrestling. "It was kind of scary also. It was a really great experience. The coaches were great, the teammates were great. The boys really welcomed us. So it was just a great experience."

When it came to acts of service, Harris found ways to make it personal.

"I wrote a book about my brother who had a traumatic brain injury," she said. "I wrote this book and I sent it out to all 50 states, various neuroscience centers, to create awareness and comfort and hope for the families and other survivors."

Another personal project was inspired by Harris's niece who survived brain cancer.

"I distributed homemade hats to children at Primary Children's who also lost their hair from cancer treatment," she explained.

Harris also spent time throughout the year crocheting and knitting scarves to wrap up as Christmas presents and distribute to people in homeless shelters and those who are out on the street.

"That's really, really cool because they unwrap them right there and they're jumping and happy and cheerful and grateful," Harris said.

One of Harris's favorite goals and projects came from the requirement of organizing and going on an exploration. While a lot of delegates found ways to complete this goal virtually, Harris made sure to go exploring in person.

"I actually planned and completed almost a week-long trip in the Wind River Mountains backpacking," she explained. "And how can you not be affected by the Wind River Mountains?"

Overall, Harris enjoyed getting to do new things and finding ways to serve.

Going forward

Harris also has no intention of stopping the momentum she's started through the program.

"It's nice to have the service so much a part of everyday life that it's not unnatural," she said, noting she likes being able to help, whether in big ways or small.

She also has plans to go on a road trip with her sister, which will be her next big exploration.

With her writing, Harris has already received recognition by winning the first place district for Young Authors this year, as well as a national award for the Patriot's Pen.

As for sports, Harris just tried out for and made the cheer team, so now she'll be doing  tennis, soccer, wrestling, and cheer.

"I think I will just keep setting goals and completing goals," Harris said. "It's just a healthy way to move forward."