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(AP) - A college student who helped rescue
injured workers at last year's Interstate 35W bridge collapse won
an honor Tuesday from recipients of the Congressional Medal of
Honor.

      Matthew Miller, a 22-year-old student at Bethel University in
St. Paul, was one of three people to win the Above & Beyond Citizen
Honors, chosen from among 51 finalists representing each state and
the District of Columbia.

      The finalists were selected by the Congressional Medal of Honor
Society, which is made up of the 105 living recipients of the
nation's highest military honor for valor.

      Miller was working a summer construction job on the bridge when
it collapsed, killing 13 people. 

He's credited with running to the
bottom of the Mississippi River embankment and carrying many
injured motorists out from under the collapsed span to safety.


      Tuesday's presentations were made at a ceremony at Arlington
National Cemetery on a brisk, sunny morning, with the Tomb of the
Unknowns as a backdrop.

      "On the east side of the Tomb of the Unknowns behind us, you
can see a low relief sculpture of three Greek citizens -- each
representing the virtues of peace, valor and victory," said former
Secretary of State Colin Powell, an honorary co-chair of the
Congressional Medal of Honor Society. 

He said that image
"symbolizes the character" of Tuesday's honorees.


      NBC anchor Brian Williams, who hosted the event, said that
people don't need to wear a uniform to serve the nation heroically.

      "We are here today to honor three unique American citizens,
ordinary folks -- that's the common theme here -- who faced
extraordinary circumstances and did extraordinary things," he
said.

      "It is a blessing to be here today," Miller told the crowd,
which included 34 Medal of Honor winners. "I believe God gave me
the strength that day" to help get people to safety.

      Another recipient was Don Schoendorfer, an engineer from Orange
County, Calif., who developed an inexpensive wheelchair consisting
of a lawn chair, two mountain bike tires, a frame and casters. His
Free Wheelchair Mission has donated to developing nations more than
300,000 of the wheelchairs, which cost less than $50 to make.

      "Our country has been blessed," he said. "Developing
countries look to us for compassion."

      The other recipient was Jencie Fagan, a Reno, Nev., middle
school gym teacher who helped disarm a 14-year-old boy who shot and
wounded two students in 2006.

      "Each of us can be a hero by the choices we make every day,"
she said.


      Miller has a busy few days ahead of him. On Wednesday, he's
scheduled to appear on NBC's "Today" Show along with the other
two recipients. On Monday, he'll throw out the opening pitch at the
Minnesota Twins home opener.

      "I gotta throw this week," he told reporters after the event.
"Can't be hitting the dirt, it's embarrassing."


      Miller, a double major in physical education and health
education who graduates this spring, said with a laugh that he
wasn't likely to return to construction work this summer.

      "Maybe, we'll see," he added. "I'm a little nervous on
bridges. A little paranoid when working on bridges."
     

Gallery

A college student who helped rescue
injured workers at last year's Interstate 35W bridge collapse is being honored by recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Minnesota man honored for bridge rescue efforts

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