Barron Prize Celebrates 25 Years of Honoring Young Heroes Who Are Making a Difference

BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates 25 years of honoring public-spirited young people as it announces its 2025 class of young heroes. Founded by bestselling author T. A. Barron, the Barron Prize annually recognizes 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive impact on people and the planet. Fifteen top winners each receive $10,000 to support their service work or higher education.

"It has been so rewarding these past 25 years to shine a spotlight on heroic young people and to encourage others by their actions," says T. A. Barron. "I'm deeply inspired by the ways youth continue to make a difference -- and we need their example more than ever."

Since 2001, the Barron Prize has honored 625 young heroes from across the U.S. and Canada. These young leaders represent great diversity, yet all demonstrate heroic character qualities such as courage, compassion, and determination. This year's winners are combatting climate change, helping children with disabilities, protecting endangered species, developing new treatments for disease, and much more. They are:

Aadi Kulkarni, age 17, of New Hampshire, who founded TechPals to organize youth volunteers in teaching digital skills to seniors at libraries, retirement homes, and senior centers. His group has helped more than 5,000 seniors learn to text, use FaceTime, and recognize scams, among other digital skills.

Anisha Dhoot, age 16, of Oregon, who created a machine learning-based platform to support sustainable agriculture and help mitigate climate change. Her system regenerates soil and improves crop yields, providing small-scale farmers with a strategy for climate-friendly agriculture, especially in developing countries facing food insecurity.

April Surac, age 17, of Florida, who founded NeuraSensa to create interactive, therapeutic art experiences for people with autism, Alzheimer's, and sensory processing disorders. She uses layered fabrics, conducive materials, and embedded sensors to design textile-based installations that respond to touch, movement, and sound.

Asa Miller, age 18, of New York, who created ¡Viva el Vivero! or Long Live the Nursery!, an international campaign to help communities in Cuba restore their country's stunning coral reefs. He has produced a documentary about his work that has won awards at film festivals around the world.

Carter Medved, age 18, of New York, created three youth-led initiatives -- CrushCarbon, EnviroVols, and WattSherpa -- to make sustainability accessible, actionable, and community-driven. His initiatives have guided more than 100,000 people in taking steps to reduce emissions, volunteer together, and better understand the climate solutions within reach.

Cynthia Zhang, age 17, of New York, founded Monarchs Matter to combat biodiversity loss and climate change through the protection of monarch butterflies. Since founding her nonprofit in 2023, she has supported youth from more than 20 schools in raising, tagging, and releasing monarchs.

Alaina Zhang, age 17, of Rhode Island, who created Harvesting Change to explore native seaweed's potential to reduce nitrogen pollution along Rhode Island's coast. Her research demonstrates that sugar kelp farming could significantly reduce coastal nitrogen overload, which threatens marine life.

Ethan Hua, age 17, of California, who founded the H.O.P.E. (Help Our Planet Earth) school uniform recycling program to reduce textile waste in his California community while alleviating financial strain on families. His program has collected and redistributed over 9,500 uniforms, saving families an estimated $135,000 in clothing costs.

Gia Providente, age 8, of New York, who is helping protect endangered diamondback terrapin turtles in her community on the South Shore of Long Island through awareness signs in her town's bayfront parks. The signs feature her turtle artwork and slogan, "Go Slow, Terrapins Below," since the turtles are regularly killed by boat strikes.

Matthew Vila, age 16, of Florida, who founded Harmony Hugs, a nonprofit that provides free instrumental music lessons to youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Each week, his team of 40 student musicians teaches more than 70 youth at seven locations across Miami-Dade County.

Nicolina Pappas, age 14, of Illinois, founded Nicolina's Turtle Co., a nonprofit committed to reducing plastic use and educating others about the importance of conservation. She has developed a comprehensive and far-reaching Skip the Plastic campaign, encouraging communities to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics.

Srihan Sankepalle, age 15, of Michigan, who has developed a low-cost, effective, and scalable system to remove microplastics from rivers, lakes, and coastlines. His chemically triggered, titanium dioxide-coated foam system captures and quickly degrades microplastics through the use of UV light.

Vick and William Tan, ages 16 and 14, of Minnesota, who co-founded Fish Hut to support positive mental health in youth by promoting time outdoors and connection through fishing. The brothers' nonprofit has placed more than 50 Fish Hut boxes of fishing equipment near public lakes, in schools, and at libraries across several states, largely in underserved communities.

Vivian Liu, age 16, of Texas, founded Origami For Good, a global nonprofit that has inspired more than 7,000 volunteers to create handmade origami for people in hospitals, nursing homes, and children's centers around the world. Her volunteers have folded and distributed over 825,000 pieces of origami to bring comfort, spread joy, and foster a sense of connection.

Zinia Khattar, age 17, of California, who is passionate about using molecular biology to develop new and affordable treatments for neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases. She has designed a novel gene-set profiling algorithm to explore specific cellular mechanisms that can be regulated to alleviate mitochondrial dysfunction -- the root of many diseases.

"I'm awed by the good work and heroic ideals of our most recent winners," says Barron. "We are deeply proud of and grateful for all the young people we've celebrated in the past 25 years, and we look forward to honoring many more."

The Barron Prize annual application deadline is March 15^th, and winners are announced each September. For more information visit www.barronprize.org

About the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes
The Barron Prize is a national award that annually honors 25 inspiring young heroes who are making a difference to people and the environment. Through the years, the Prize has earned the support of Girl Scouts of the USA, The Wilderness Society, Youth Service America, and Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots, among other organizations. For information about the Barron Prize, visit www.barronprize.org

About T. A. Barron
T. A. Barron grew up in Colorado ranch country and traveled widely as a Rhodes Scholar. He is the winner of the de Grummond Medallion for "lifetime contribution to the field of children's and young adult literature." His highly acclaimed, internationally bestselling books include The Lost Years of Merlin (now being developed into a film), The Great Tree of Avalon (a New York Times bestseller), The Ancient One, and The Hero's Trail, which profiles heroic young people from diverse backgrounds and inspires young people to think of how they can make a positive difference in the world. He loves to write and hike in Colorado. For more information visit www.TABarron.com

SOURCE Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes