Staff file photo / R. Michael Semple Ted Snyder, general manager of the Tribune Chronicle, left, presents a check to Ellie Falb of Newton Falls after she was announced the winner of the newspaper’s Twenty Under 20 Award in December. Falb, who graduated from Newton Falls High School in May, was recently recognized as part of the 2026 Congressional Award Gold Medal Class and attended the 2026 Gold Medal Summit in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

NEWTON FALLS — Recent Newton Falls graduate Ellie Falb, who was one of seven valedictorians and was the winner of the Tribune Chronicle’s annual Twenty Under 20 Award, has added another honor to her list of accomplishments.

Falb was part of the 2026 Congressional Gold Medal Class and attended the 2026 Gold Medal Summit in Washington, D.C., earlier this month along with 876 other honorees across the country.

The Congressional Gold Medal honors students’ extraordinary commitment to voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness and expedition or exploration. The medalists traveled to the nation’s capitol for the 2026 Gold Medal Summit, where they received their medals from members of The Congressional Award Foundation’s Board of Directors on stage at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, met fellow honorees from across the country, participated in leadership and career-focused programming and engaged with their elected officials on Capitol Hill.

Over the span of the summit, 193 members of the House and Senate met with their constituents, allowing medalists to share their Congressional Award journeys and discuss the service, goal-setting, perseverance, and personal growth required to earn Congress’ highest honor for youth civilians.

“This year’s Gold Medalists represent the very best of what young people can accomplish when they set meaningful goals and commit themselves to service, growth, and exploration,” said Erica Heyse, National Director of The Congressional Award. “For many of these students and families, traveling to Washington, D.C. and meeting with their elected officials is the culmination of years of hard work. The Summit gives us the opportunity not only to celebrate what they have achieved, but also to remind them that this medal is a foundation for a lifetime of leadership, civic engagement, and impact.”

Throughout the three-day summit, Gold Medalists participated in panel discussions, networking sessions, a STEM Stars Reception, congressional meetings, a group photo on Capitol Hill and attendance at the 2026 Congressional Baseball Game.

Programming highlighted key themes connected to the Congressional Award experience, including innovation, civic engagement, career exploration, STEM, service, travel and leadership.

“After earning The Congressional Award, I learned that it is not something you undertake because you think it will be easy, or simply because you think it will be hard. I created goals, stayed determined and achieved my goals because they were important to me. The Congressional Award is not something you go into knowing the type of person you will be after you earn it, instead it is a program that helped me realize how important and life-changing the journey to earning each award truly was,” Falb said after receiving her medal.

The Congressional Award is the United States Congress’ award for young Americans. Established by Congress in 1979, the program recognizes initiative, service and achievement in young people.

Falb was named one of 20 Twenty Under 20 nominees by the newspaper in November and was named the overall winner at an awards dinner in December. She also was named an honoree in 2024.

During her academic career, Falb racked up more than 600 hours of volunteer work at a local hospital, library and food pantry, as well as school school initiatives. She participated in the Buckeye Girls State last summer and earned the Silver Congressional Award for planning and organizing a trip to Washington, D.C.

She also was a four-year varsity letterman for the school’s soccer team and a four-year statistician for the school’s track team and the freshman boy’s basketball team.

Falb earned a Gold Congressional Award for planning and organizing a trip to Hawaii.

She plans to become a doctor.