While most high school seniors spend the year deciding where they want to go to college and what they want to do while they are there, Karsyn Robb, 18, had already made up her mind in middle school.
Now a sophomore at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., Robb is double-majoring in Music Business and Business Administration. Her passion for music was the driving force behind her proudest accomplishment: earning a Congressional Gold Award.
“My sister is seven years older than me, and when she was in high school, she received the Bronze Award,” said Robb. “Ever since then, I’ve wanted to earn one of my own.”
On June 18, 246 young men and women, ages 14 to 23, gathered in Washington, D.C., to be recognized for their dedication and excellence for voluntary public service, personal development, and physical fitness. They were also required to complete a five-day special project away from home.
Robb pulled out her logs, stacks of papers with meticulous, hand-written notes documenting the work she did to earn the award.
“Writing down every single thing I did was probably the hardest part,” said Robb.
Putting in the hours toward the award was easy, because she chose to focus on what she already loved doing: singing and song-writing.
For the personal development requirement, Robb composed and recorded an album. She was able to combine her two passions for music and domestic violence awareness and released a single on iTunes called, “You Told Me.” Karsyn donates the proceeds from the single to the Peace House.
“In ninth grade, my English teacher told us about three different girls who were in abusive relationships, and two of them didn’t survive,” said Robb. “Ever since then, the issue has been really important to me.”
Her goal to become a professional performer drove her to complete the hours she needed for physical fitness. She practiced singing with a vocal coach, going from performing a half-hour set to a three-hour set.
Robb then travelled to Colorado for her special project, spending five days and five nights working with other artists on her song-writing skills.
“Everything I did to earn the award were all things I would have needed to do anyway,” said Robb. “I just had to make sure I wrote down exactly what I did and how long I did it for.”
Robb also completed over 400 hours of voluntary public service through Big Brothers Big Sisters at McPolin Elementary. She first met her “little sister” when the girl was in first grade, and she is now about to enter fifth grade.
“I’ve met so many amazing and inspirational people I never would have met otherwise,” said Robb. “They’ve become my friends, and they wrote great recommendation letters for me for college, which was a huge bonus.”
Taking the time to earn a Congressional Award looks great on a college application, Karsyn said. The board of admissions will see that once you set your mind to do something, you follow through. Completing the approximately 800 hours required for all three sections combined is a display of dedication and commitment.
Congressmen and women were at the ceremony to support the recipients of the award and emphasized the importance of community service, Robb said. They stressed that the earlier on students provide service to their community, the more likely they are to continue to do so as they get older.
According to Robb, the Congressional Award is something most students are very much aware of and that their elected officials encourage them to achieve.
“What was disappointing to me was that almost every state had their senators there to give them their award, and they were all so approachable and more than happy to speak with you,” said Robb. “Neither one of our senators from Utah was there to support us, and it would have been nice to have that.”
After the ceremony, Robb came home and took summer classes at the University of Utah, and even now that she is done logging her hours and recording her work, she is still busy as ever. In addition to responsibilities that come with a double major, she has also been named to the student advisory board for “Love is Respect,” a national teen dating abuse helpline.
While the activities Robb is involved in are time-consuming, she has grown accustomed to a demanding schedule.
“Completing all the hours does seem a little daunting and scary, but anyone can do it,” said Robb. “If you just dedicate yourself and make a little extra time and effort, anyone can earn a Congressional Gold Award.”