400 hours of service, hundreds more dedicated to personal growth and physical training, and over two years of unwavering persistence culminated in Neha Sharma ‘27 earning the Congressional Award Gold Medal — Congress’s highest honor for civilian youth.

Inspired by her older brother’s experience earning the Congressional Award, Neha set her sights on achieving the same milestone in September of 2022. The Congressional Award challenges young Americans to complete a minimum of 400 hours of voluntary public service, 200 hours of personal development, 200 hours of physical fitness, and a five-day, four-night expedition exploring an unfamiliar environment or culture.

“ My brother [won the Congressional Award] previously,” Neha said. “How he did different volunteer activities and how that helped him grow as a person really inspired me to pursue this. I really wanted to experience that as well.”

Initially, the extensive list of requirements appeared daunting. With the encouragement of her family, Neha found the confidence to commit to the journey ahead.

“My family really pushed me to be better and helped me pursue what I wanted to do, even though I thought I couldn’t do it,” Neha said. “Community service [challenged me the most] because it’s 400 hours, and especially in the beginning, it seemed unreachable. I really had to make sure that was a priority — I couldn’t put it off. I had to actively chase it.”

A significant portion of her voluntary public service hours was dedicated to the Snuggles Project, a nonprofit in which she crocheted blankets and comfort items for rescue animals in shelters.

“I spent almost 200 hours specifically with the Snuggles Project,” Neha said, “[It was meaningful] because [the items] helped them feel comforted and gave them something to take to their new adopted homes.”

In addition to remote public service, Neha volunteered at various events through Westwood’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC), shaping her perspective of leadership.

“The volunteer events I did through JROTC specifically [shaped how I see leadership] because the activities were really different compared to volunteer hours you do on your own,” Neha said. “There’s more structure, and you get to see people take charge and lead. It really opened my eyes to the leadership capabilities high schoolers can have.”

As time went on, Neha’s focus shifted from simply earning the medal to embracing the personal growth fostered throughout the process.

“[It became more than just a goal], especially with the community service aspect,” Neha said. “In the beginning, it was like, ‘I’m just going to continue doing what I’m doing,’  but later, it really helped me grow. I got to see how much community service helped me — not just the people I was helping. Not everything is about the award. It’s about the process that gets you to the end goal.”

“[My family and I] did a road trip to Arkansas, and I love to hike so we did a lot of hiking adventures and went in the mountains a lot,” Neha said. “I went to Hot Springs, Little Rock, Morrilton, Russellville and Murfreesboro. [My favorite memory of the process] was planning the expedition. It was my first real trip I planned all by myself.  I wasn’t comfortable making decisions at first, but making sure the trip was fun for everyone really made me step outside my comfort zone.”

With the award in reach, Neha fulfilled the 200-hour physical fitness requirement through gymnastics, a demanding sport that consistently tested her resilience. Frequent sprains challenged her perseverance and prevented her from tumbling and vaulting, yet she remained committed.

“Gymnastics [was a setback] because I got injured a lot, but [I persevered and] still went to practice and put in the work,” Neha said. “ I get a lot of sprains. I’ve sprained my ankle, I’ve sprained my elbow, I’ve done all those things. [They] prevented me from tumbling and vaulting, one because I know I got injured tumbling, so I had a mental block, but also because it hurt. It’s rough because when you’re injured, you can’t do everything you want to do, but you have to keep going. I’m really glad I didn’t stop.”

Beyond building physical strength, gymnastics became a powerful lesson in mental endurance. The repetition of skills, consistent conditioning, and persistence through setbacks cultivated Neha’s patience and determination.

“[Gymnastics] helps with mental strength as well because you’re doing the same thing multiple times just to get better,” Neha said. “You’re conditioning, doing all the things, and conditioning your mind as well as your body.”

Music and joining scouting through the Boy Scouts of America contributed to Neha’s 200-hour personal development requirement, serving as a creative outlet and source of balance. Through playing the flute in band and various outdoor adventures and skill-building activities in scouting, she found moments of calm amid a taxing schedule.

“[Music] gave me an outlet outside of school that I could look forward to,” Neha said. “Band class in middle school wasn’t like any other class. It was a moment you could take to relax a bit, and that really helped me because I needed that moment to decompress from school work. I’m in scouting, so I learned new skills scouting-wise too.”

As she balanced the award’s four laborious requirements with school and personal responsibilities, music played a key role in reinforcing the importance of discipline and time-management. This foundation helped her manage multiple commitments effectively.

“[Balancing academics, the flute, and gymnastics] helped me see that doing all these things is possible,” Neha said. “You just have to work for it and put the things that are most important first.”

“I’m a lot more community service oriented [after winning the award] because community service is a very important part of our lives,” Neha said. “It’s important to give back to the community. I feel more thankful for all the things I’m given now compared to in the past, because now I see the impact of it.”