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Lewisville student awarded Congressional Silver Medal

Lisa O'Donnell/Winston-Salem Journal

CLEMMONS — Shelby Birkedal had a simple reason for pursuing the Congressional Silver Medal.

“I know the purpose is to develop a well-rounded individual,” Shelby said. “I was hoping through this I might become that.”

At least one very important person thinks she succeeded: U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx.

Last week, Foxx invited Shelby and her family to her office in Clemmons to present her with the medal, which was established in 1979 and is open to those 14 to 23 years old.

“Having positive occasions like this and to be able to acknowledge Shelby and the work she has done in getting the congressional award is really exciting to me,” Foxx said.

Earning the medal requires fulfilling a rigorous set of criteria.

For Shelby, a home-schooled Lewisville resident, earning a silver medal involved 200 hours of volunteering, a requirement she fulfilled by mentoring underprivileged kids in Winston-Salem; 100 hours of physical fitness, which she met through dancing at a local studio; and 30 hours of personal development, which involved taking a leadership class.

She also studied historical sites in South Carolina as part of a requirement to take an expedition.

“It was definitely challenging,” she said.

Shelby will attend Wake Forest University in the fall where she plans to major in health and exercise science.

She attended the ceremony with her brother, Ryan; her parents, Mary Lynn and John; and grandparents Mary Ellen and Mick Marlowe, also of Lewisville.