Earned. Not Given,” reads the website of The Congressional Award, established in 1979 with the collaboration of Congress; amongst the most prestigious prizes available to enterprising young people aged 14 to 24, it is truly an honor to receive, but by no means is wantonly given.
Requiring a total of 800 hours of public service, personal development, and physical fitness, as well as a five-day and four-night trip organized by the applicant themselves, the criteria are rigorously stringent.
“Emma came to me freshman year and told me that she wanted to work toward winning this award because it’s a goal that she had set for herself. She was determined… and I was like ‘how do you have the time on top of your course load here?” Frisbie’s advisor Lauren Machnik said.
“800 hours is no small amount of time,” said junior Emma Frisbie – the first recipient from ELHS to win – referring to the total amount of hours necessary for the award.
For Frisbie, her awareness of the award conveniently overlapped with the plans to re-open the Niantic Bay Playhouse, formerly the Niantic Bay Cinema.
“380 hours [of the 800] were spent at Niantic Bay, most of which revolved around being a part of that key team that converted it from a cinema into a theater with musicals, plays, and cabarets,” Frisbie said.
Working with long-standing director Erin Sousa-Stanley and her team of dedicated crew, Frisbie, balancing rowing to fulfill her physical requirements alongside extracurricular classes at the Lyme Academy of Arts, refurbished, remodeled, and managed the freshly-painted stages as volunteer extraordinaire.
“It was magical to watch the playhouse come to life through all my hours. It showed me the power of a community when a community comes together, and we all chip in small actions, a big impact and a big change can be made,”
Frisbie said.
Not only was Emma volunteering, she had to concentrate on a growing course load (Frisbie is currently taking multiple AP and Honors levels classes), a role as coxswain within the ELHS girls’ crew team, and remarkably talented visual artist.
“I’ve always had a lot of different passions on different ends of the spectrum. I heard it from a friend in eighth grade, in 2023, and I thought it would be a great way to experience all my different passions – whether it was doing athletics, doing art, being really active in my community; it was an outlet for me to do all that,” Frisbie said.
ELHS Principal Henry Kydd agreed, “Emma has so many qualities that helped her win this award, but I think a huge one is that she knows who she is… She follows her passions, and those passions helped her navigate a course toward this recognition,” Kydd said.
Even though she already was on the track to complete her lofty goals, the path ahead was not without its substantial obstacles.
“There were a lot of hardships along the way. I think the biggest challenge was time management, especially balancing crew, having sports every day, and also my volunteering at the Niantic Bay Playhouse. Back in eighth grade
and freshman year, I was working 30 hours a week. I’ve learned a lot about how to manage my time and stay on top of things,” Frisbie said.
In addition to volunteer hours and physical exercise, a recipient of the Congressional Award must prepare and execute an adventurous travel plan – all by themselves.
Reflecting her love of the natural world, Frisbie chose to go to Acadia National Park for five days.
Though a lovely respite from the constant determination required of her at ELHS, it required a great deal of preparation, in keeping with the program’s emphasis upon challenging students to push themselves to the max.
Recently, Emma was asked to appear on Channel 3 News beside Mr. Kydd to speak about her accomplishment.
“When they called me, I was reluctant to go. I didn’t want to take away from all the work she’s done… but, in the end I was there to make sure she didn’t have to talk about herself the entire time, to speak to her selflessness. I wanted to be there to support her,” Mr. Kydd said.
As always, Frisbie shows herself to think beyond just herself, amazing though she certainly is.
“Emma has always been a go-getter… I’ve always been blown away by what she’s done… she’s just an awesome kid. Everything about her character.
She’s got the head. She’s got the heart. She’s just a good human,” Ms. Machnik said.
“What makes Emma so special is that she’s very down to Earth. She’s not all just book smart. I just enjoy talking to her in general… I’m so proud of her. I feel so lucky to know her and be a part of her journey.”
