Elyse Harabedian, a 2012 Los Alamitos High School graduate, was honored in Washington D.C. with the Congressional Award Gold Medal – Congress’ highest award for youth.
Elyse Harabedian, a 2012 Los Alamitos High School graduate, was honored in Washington D.C. with the Congressional Award Gold Medal – Congress’ highest award for youth.
Harabedian was among 252 students from across the United States who were presented with the award during the Gold Medal Ceremony held on Capitol Hill in the Cannon House Office Building earlier this summer. Thomas McDevitt, President of the Washington Times, and CNN anchorman, Wolf Blitzer led the ceremonies.
The Congressional Award was established by Congress in 1979 and is privately funded by companies such as Fedex, Disney, and General Dynamics. The program recognizes initiative, achievement and service in youth, and is an excellent way to differentiate oneself for colleges. Elizabeth Wissner-Gross, author of “What High Schools Don’t Tell You – 300+ Secrets”, cites the Congressional Award as “one of the best kept Washington secrets”, and describes its impact as “stunningly impressive on a college application.”
The program requires setting and achieving specific goals in three areas: Voluntary Service, Personal Development, and Physical Fitness, with 800 hours over two years of monthly activity, as well as independently planning a four-night Exploration.
Harabedian pursues most things with diligence and determination – the Gold Medal was no exception. She served the community both in the U.S. and abroad, focusing primarily on youth and the poor. Her love for working with youth led her to serve locally at the Boys and Girls Club of Cypress, at Los Alamitos Unified School District Summer School as a teaching assistant, at Cypress Church, and at Camp Arev, an Armenian Christian camp in Frazier Park, CA., as a Counselor-in-Training for elementary and junior high girls. Harabedian served the poor primarily through volunteering at Paros Lighthouse Foundation in Long Beach, helping to pack clothes and other essentials for poor families in Armenia. She was also blessed to spend two weeks in Armenia with Fuller Center for Housing, helping to build a home in the village of Dasht, 40 minutes outside the capital city of Yerevan. To fulfill the athletic requirement, Elyse became a multi-event track & field athlete, and competed at the Varsity level for four years in pole vault, high jump, long jump, and triple jump, ending her high school career as Sunset League High Jump Champion.
Harabedian’s sponsor, long time family friend, Dr. Anie Chaderjian, Professor of Mathematics at Scripps College in Claremont, provided insightful direction during the journey. In Elyse’s words, “[The Congressional Award] has been an incredible experience which I will always treasure.”
To find out more about the Congressional Award Program, please visit their website at www.congressionalaward.org.
