Sunday Lifestyles

Dunkirk grad earns Congressional Award Gold Medal

Riley Grey Smith Mallon has earned the Congressional Award Gold Medal. A Dunkirk High School Class of 2025 graduate, he is the son of Dr. Cynthia Smith and Mr. Craig Mallon of Dunkirk, and a sophomore at the Rochester Institute of Technology, majoring in Pre-Law/History with Minors in Mechanical Engineering and Finance and an Artificial Intelligence in Society Immersion.

The Congressional Gold Medal Award is Congress’ highest award honoring America’s youth. Participants are required to complete and document at least 400 hours of voluntary community service, 200 hours for personal development, and 200 hours toward physical fitness. The program also requires participants to plan and execute an expedition or exploration. A minimum of 24 months of program activity is required to earn the Gold Medal Award.

The Congressional Award Program includes six different award levels - three Certificate Awards (Bronze, Silver, and Gold) and three Medal Awards (Bronze, Silver, and Gold). For each award, participants set goals in each of the program areas (voluntary community service, personal development, physical fitness, exploration/expedition) that must be measurable, personally challenging, and verifiable.

Smith began working on Program requirements in 2020 and, with the award of the Gold Medal on October 9, 2026, has earned all six awards.

In the area of voluntary community service, he provided 333 hours of service in his local community on activities that benefited children/youth, serving 1,034 children/youth. Additionally, he provided 45 hours of service on activities that benefited the environment and 31 hours of service to local organizations (veteran organizations, volunteer fire departments, the City of Dunkirk, BSA, and the Literacy Volunteers of America). Some of his voluntary community service activities (409 hours) included digitizing a therapy manual for Shriners Hospitals for Children, building houses with Habitat for Humanity, leading a Cub Scout Pack, working with students with disabilities, and participating in conservation projects.

In the area of personal development, Smith improved his skills as a swimmer, earned and maintained lifeguard certification across five years, worked as a lifeguard, and invested his earnings in a retirement account (979 hours documented toward goals in this area).

His physical fitness activities focused on improving his skills as a competitive shot-put thrower (773 hours). Riley documented consistent and sustained work toward his goals and demonstrated significant improvement over a four-year period.

Smith completed his final program requirement during Spring Break 2026 when he planned and implemented a 5-day/4-night exploration in Boston on a $3,000 budget using his own funds. His exploration goal was to learn about and experience American History by visiting at least one museum each day and exploring historical sites across Boston. Participants must complete at least 6-8 hours of immersive activities per day in order to count the day toward program requirements and must provide detailed travel logs of the experience.

Smith's progress toward this award was supported by his program mentor, Tammy Prior, and his validators Marianne Bowers (Voluntary Service), Julie Sek (Personal Development), and Adam Woelfle (Physical Fitness). His Gold Medal program requirements were reviewed and approved at the Regional and National levels.

Smith will receive the Congressional Award Gold Medal at the annual celebration of Gold Medalists in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2027. This three-day event, known as the Gold Medal Summit, celebrates achievements and provides opportunities for leadership development, networking, and engagement with Members of Congress.