NLC Snapshot: Gold Medal Recipients and Christian Science Monitor Passport Winner

Graduating seniors in the DiscoveryBound National Leadership Council (NLC) marked the end of their time in the program with an impressive exit. At the annual All Class Retreat (ACR) this past January, the graduating classes celebrated the announcement of the Christian Science Monitor Passport Prize winner and 11 total Congressional Gold Medal awards. Molly Daley won the Christian Science Monitor Passport Prize, sponsored by Friends of the Christian Science Monitor, for her thoughtful essay detailing how the Monitor shaped her outlook on current events. She even started a “Current Events Club” at her school to keep her classmates better informed on global news. Congratulations, Molly! Read her essay below.

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Eleven teens were honored for their commitment to service with the Gold Medal, the Congressional Award’s highest level. Each completed 400 hours of public service, 200 hours of personal development, and 200 hours of physical fitness. Congratulations to recipients from the 2025U and 2025K classes: Liam Smith, Heather Adams, Caleb Stonecliff, Beck Riedel, Katherine Aide, Tristan Barre, Molly Dudley, Spencer Peesel, Amarachi Okwor, Calder Ledbetter, and Fisher Ledbetter.

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Essay Winner of the Christian Science Monitor Passport Prize

By Molly Daley

My sophomore year of High School I had an obsession with the news. Everyday I’d come home from school and turn on the TV. Click, the television came to life. I’d sit in front of the screen and do my work; my eyes would be on math but my ears on the broadcasters talking words and stories larger than life. I was fascinated, the stories across societies foreign to me were intriguing and beautiful. I’m sorry to say that during this phase I was also very naive. I could not yet identify media bias, sensationalism, and I could not guard myself against the ‘doomsday’ attitude that too often accompanies modern media. After a while this attitude took a toll on my psyche: I felt more stressed about the state of the world – wars, the bipartisan divide, rising homeless rates, warming climate and all of the loud swarming opinions competing with each other. At some point I couldn’t handle it anymore. Click, I turned the TV off.

For a year I stayed in the dark. I stayed informed via word of mouth, occasional escapades through the Apple News app and, shamefully, buzzfeed. It wasn’t until I picked up an edition of the Christian Science Monitor that I once again found beauty in the media, and a powerful lesson on prayer along the way.

The Monitor was like a breath of fresh air right after rain. Where other sources of media had failed to offer unbiased opinions, the Monitor succeeded. The “Perspectives” section offered bite sized quotes and various takes on current events. Different columns clearly outlined the sides of different news sources and political parties on different topics, leaving the reader to decide their own opinions. I didn’t feel as if one view was being shoved down my throat, instead I found freedom in the Monitor’s style of writing and its striving for truth. The Monitor’s allegiance to unbiased truth has inspired me at school: I founded a “Current Events Club” with friends; at meetings we do our best to keep students informed on global news by drawing on a number of sources: The Monitor, Fox News, the Washington Post, CNN, ABC and more.

I also found the Monitor refreshing in its lack of sensationalism. So often other papers and media sources try to convince readers that the issues they discuss are “massive problems facing society” and “super important headlines you must pay attention to!” While these sources shout for attention, the Monitor is like that “still, small voice” of good. It has an air of humble, honest reporting evidenced through the tiny “why we write this” notes boxed on every page. The Monitor’s style made me feel like the reporters care more for the reader’s understanding and less for the reader’s money or vote – a refreshing change.

The most meaningful aspect of the Monitor is hope. It balances positivity with difficult realities. I could never understand why other sources only focus on the bad when there seems to be so much good in the world. Reading the Monitor turned me away from the doomsday attitude while keeping me informed of global hardships. On one page I might find a story on a major conflict in Bangladesh and another page good samaritans providing aid to refugees. Additionally the paper does not sugar coat or ignore issues but bring them to light and give readers the space to pray for the given situation with the facts at hand.

While I’ve loved all these aspects of the Monitor, managing to keep my thought elevated has been no cup of tea. It’s challenging to see all the hurt and apply a Christian Science mindset.

I recall reading one article about how aid was to be cut from Ukraine, leaving many feeling hopeless and at a loss of what to do. I had read similar articles about Sudan, Gaza, the homeless, ect. I wanted to pray for them but I didn’t exactly know how. I knew that as a christian scientist I did not want to pray for one person but meet the large need through thought. I started by analyzing the underlying problem: In Ukraine the people were in need of aid. In Sudan the people lacked stability. In Gaza the people pleaded for peace. On the streets people lacked shelter.

As I connected the dots I realized that one thing was standard across all of these stories of hurt: it appeared they lacked something. I knew from my study of Christian Science that this could not be true. My first thought came from Mary Baker Eddy’s quote: “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.”

While I had heard and repeated the quote all my life, I didn’t quite understand how it could apply to these situations. How does Love, or Divine Love meet the needs of others and how does my prayer fit into that? I put the thought to the side and kept searching. As I was flipping through the Bible and the Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures I started to hum a hymn that was tickling the edge of my brain. That hymn was In Heavenly Love Abiding by Anna L. Waring. I immediately grabbed my hymnal and turned to page 148. The lines that stood out to me are as follows: “In heavenly Love abiding/No change my heart shall fear…” There’s that “heavenly Love” again with a capital L, “My Shepherd is beside me/And nothing can I lack…” We lack nothing under God.

While I could not pray for each individual person, I knew that I had to shift my own perspective to not seeing these people as lacking, but as complete. I had to see them as children of God, who have the capacity to love and care for one another, who abide by an underlying Principle of guidance, abundance, and peace. While they may ‘lack’ materially, I knew that they receive their ‘daily bread’ in so many other ways. Whether that looks like a simple thank you from a stranger, a smile shared between old friends, or a good samaritan choosing selflessness, it is these every-day constant moments of Love – reflecting the ultimate, Divine Love – that fulfill us.

The Monitor’s pairing of stories of hope next to difficult realities make it easier to recognize the universal good being done. I could draw from these stories for inspiration to pray for the world as a whole, and recognize that we can not lack when everyday we are completed by a higher Love, God.

Picking up the Monitor has done so much good for me. As I’m reminded of the good in the world, my thought is uplifted, and I’m able to know that goodness underlies every inch of our being. With this thought in mind and ready with the Truth, I sit back down on my couch; Click, I turn on the TV.