Rep. Johnson awards two local students with Congressional Award
DECATUR— Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) recently presented the Congressional Award to Fourth District residents Madison Castle and Kanaan Mills for their volunteerism and personal accomplishments.
"These high-achieving students deserve to be commended," said Johnson. "Their work exemplifies the cornerstones of the Congressional Award: service to others, initiative and achievement. I always enjoy spending time with our young people, discussing their goals and aspirations."
Castle of Avondale Estates, who earned the Congressional Award-Silver Medal, volunteered in her immediate community and abroad.
Some of her work included venturing to Grenada, where she taught local residents to swim. She later went on to raise money in Georgia so that the children she taught to swim could also receive swim caps.
To ensure that she met all requirements, Castle, ran and hiked —even hiking for three days and two nights on the Appalachian Trail. In her spare time, she works to improve her photography skills. Castle is a graduate of Decatur High School and will attend University of Georgia (UGA) in the fall.
Bronze Medalist Kanaan, or "Kane" Mills, worked with several local organizations to construct 10 "Little Free Libraries" for neighborhoods with limited access to public libraries, including his own community in Covington. Mills also did extensive work raising awareness of clean streams in the district, which led him to a new passion of kayaking. He used his new passion to fulfill his physical fitness requirements, along with playing a lot of tennis.
Mills, who also enjoys computer programming, will enter college with more than two years of credits because of his acceleration through Georgia Perimeter/Georgia State University's joint enrollment program. Mills was a home-schooled student and plans to attend Guilford College in the fall.
The Congressional Award is open to all young people ages 14-23 in America. To earn the award, young people must set and achieve goals in four areas: volunteerism, personal development, physical fitness and expedition/exploration. For more information, visit https://congressionalaward.org.
(Pictured above: L-R: Congressman Hank Johnson poses with Madison Castle and Kanaan Mills at his district office in Decatur)