Louisiana’s own, Kelsie Tillage, earned the honorable Gold Medal Congressional Award
Baton Rouge, LA - Louisiana’s own, Kelsie Tillage, earned the honorable Gold Medal Congressional Award. This prestigious accolade, awarded by the US Congress, is the highest honor a youth civilian can achieve through the US Senate and House of Representatives. This program recognizes initiative, service, and achievement in youth ages 14-24.
“Receiving this award is truly an honor,” said Tillage. “More importantly, I hope to inspire others to be more involved in their communities to elevate themselves and those around them.”
The Congressional Award was Established in 1979 by Congress as a public-private partnership. This program is the only non-profit organization affiliated with the US Congress. Since its inception, there have only been 5,000 gold medalists, and only 84 were from Louisiana. Kelsie Tillage is one of Louisiana’s first high school students to receive the gold medal award. The gold medal requires 400 hours of voluntary public service, 200 hours of personal development, 200 hours of physical fitness, and 5-day exploration.
Along with excelling in her academic pursuits, Kelsie is involved in several other volunteering ventures such as tutoring, reading and creating book logs for children, letter-writing campaigns, and providing digital content for non-profit organizations. Kelsie furthered her personal development and physical fitness by participating in several extracurricular activities. Such as Varsity and Club Volleyball, Youth & Government, SULS Student Government Association where she served as Secretary and Vice President, and Level 3 Photography in Futures Fund. Lastly, during Kelsie’s exploration of South Africa, she deciphered dialects of different languages.
Kelsie Tillage is a junior at Southern University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In addition to maintaining a 4.29-grade point average, she is dually enrolled at Southern University, Honors and AP courses, is a published author, and is a Regional Teen Officer for Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated (a non-profit service organization). Kelsie has also been dubbed student of the year in her district and earned the Duke Tip Scholar, John Hopkins CTY, and the Jacqueline Moore Bowles Leadership Awards.
“I hope that receiving this award allows me to broaden my reach in my endeavors to create and explore,” said Tillage. After being published in an anthology, Kelsie Tillage is inspired to create her own, “Unpopular Opinions,” set to release in Summer 2022. “I realized many people have vast opinions and stories that they want to share.” Stay up to date on Kelsie’s journey on kelsieania.com.
“Even though I am one of the first to receive this honor in Louisiana, I do not intend to be the last. I hope to inspire and assist young adults in my community to take more action! Helping those around you gives you a sense of responsibility and, as I’ve noticed, helps you discover yourself as well. I am proud to be among the first high school recipients of this award, and I hope to see Louisiana’s participation grow in the upcoming years. This experience will serve as a continual reminder to better myself as I enter my senior year of high school.” Kelsie Tillage.
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