Ava B. '26 Earns Congressional Award

7/17/2025

Jamie Lavigueur

Ava B. ’26 earned the Congressional Award Gold Medal, the highest honor bestowed by U.S. Congress to students. The award recognizes initiative, service, and achievement in America's youth, and Ava met the highest criteria to earn the Gold Medal in the four program areas of Voluntary Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration.

Her public service initiative was no small feat: she created and led a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization called Beginner Bookworms, which distributes books to local, underserved students and underfunded schools.

Ava, who is self-proclaimed bookworm, organized fundraisers and book drives, including one at SFHS in March – where hundreds of books were collected.

“It was amazing to see the support of our school community,” she said.

Ava was inspired to create Beginner Bookworms after she was shocked to learn that schools in her hometown of Bartlett were facing a shortage of books. She said it was rewarding to personally deliver the books and meet with the students – some of whom made her thank-you posters. At one particular school, which serves blind students, Ava collected board books to have braille printed on them.

“It made me so happy to think that they could still enjoy these books this way,” Ava said.

At another school, she helped curate a culturally diverse library so students could see themselves represented in the stories.

To meet the additional criteria of personal development and physical fitness, she participated in SFHS tennis and took ballroom dancing lessons. For the expedition and exploration category, she traveled to Paris, France, and immersed herself in the culture and language. Ava, who is enrolled in AP French at SFHS, said it was a “dream come true.”

“It was amazing to see the French lifestyle – even something as simple as eating dinner a little bit later. I experienced the differences in our cultures but also the similarities,” she said.

Ava said she would recommend students challenge themselves to learn more about and try to earn the Congressional Award.

“It’s really important for the youth of America to branch out,” she said. “To see new things and try new things. By helping other people, you can also help yourself to realize who you are and who you want to be. This award helped me realize not only who I want to be but showed me that I can be that person."

The award is open to students 13.5 through 23 years old. More information can be found at www.congressionalaward.org.