Brookhaven Natives Earn Congressional Award Gold Medal

Brookhaven natives Marilyn and Madeline Miller were awarded the Congressional Award Gold Medal, which is Congress' highest honor for young people.

To earn the medal requires 400 hours of community service, 200 hours of personal development, 200 hours of physical fitness and a four-night expedition or exploration.

Marilyn did more than 500 hours of service in many ways, including creating a new teen library at . Plus, she taught workshops on interviewing skills and writing resumes at the recreation center. She also worked on public service announcements, volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club, ran a relay in support of Habitat for Humanity and helped feed the homeless.

Madeline did more than 450 hours of service. She helped create a nature preserve, a service database, designed and implemented a teen health campaign, helped organize and coach a youth soccer outreach program and renovated a local children's library.

Both Marilyn and Madeline did their personal development time by taking public speaking, modeling and acting classes, serving on a local fashion board, taking part in photo and commercial shoots, being featured in magazine photoshoots and a promotional video for a book and walking in fashion shows.

The young women filled their physical fitness requirement by playing tennis, making the varsity team at the Westminster Schools, getting their state rankings up and playing in tournaments. 

Their expedition took them to the Baja area of Mexico.

Their advisor for this endeavor was Stan Moor, part of the Westminster faculty.