A North Carolina teen returned from camp last summer and discovered her parents had abandoned her. But dedicated to her goal of an education, she took a job, went to live with a friend, and kept her grades high, despite bullying and poverty, to earn a scholarship to Harvard.
A dream 17 years-in-the-making came true for a California boy when he got out of his wheelchair and walked to accept his high school diploma. Patrick Ivison, a senior at Scripps High School in San Diego, was just 14-months-old when he was run over by a stranger's car, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
For the past two months, one of my favorite reads has been a blog started by 9-year-old Martha Payne of western Scotland to document in photos the daily lunches she was being served in her public primary school. Payne started blogging in early May and her lunch photos went viral in days. She had a million viewers within a few weeks; was written up in Time, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail; and got support from TV chef Jamie Oliver, whose series "Jamie's School Dinners" kicked off school-food reform in England.
Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs changed the way we live. All had one thing in common: Access to technology at an early age. A DC-based nonprofit called CodeNow is teaching underrepresented youth the fundamental skills of computer programming. While taking free courses, the city kids -- almost 40% are girls -- build robots, Twitter apps, and a better future.
Scott Shaver and Katie Buell were crowned prom king and queen last week at Westview High School. Katie is an all-American girl, class president, champion in girls basketball, and an absolute sweetheart, according to her teachers. Yet, it seems every student, no matter their ability, is accepted here and treasured. Scotty, as the kids call him, is a HUGE personality at the school, brought out of his shell over four years by the nurturing attention given, not only by specialized staff who have tutored him as a special needs student with autism, but by the accepting student body.
There has been a breakthrough in the fight against pancreatic cancer, and it's all thanks to a 15-year-old Maryland County teen and his mom, who drove him to Johns Hopkins University every night after school to test his theory in a lab. Jack Andraka won a $75,000 grand prize in this year's Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for his new way to test for early-stage pancreatic cancer. The test also detects ovarian and lung cancer.
Inspired by a man who traded a red paper clip to get a house using Craig's List, Brendan Haas hatched a scheme to earn a trip to Disney World. But instead of vacationing himself, the Massachusetts boy gave the all-expenses paid trip to the family of a soldier killed in Afghanistan. It only took four months of trading, beginning with Brendan offering his toy soldier on a webpage.
For the third consecutive year, 100 percent of the graduating seniors from the Urban Prep Academy, the nation's first all-boys public charter high school, have accomplished what some thought impossible - every single one of these 85 students has been accepted to a four-year college or university.
Brain science is being used in planning school lessons for 200 students in kindergarten through third grade at the the progressive Blue School in New York. The school has become a kind of national laboratory for integrating cognitive neuroscience and cutting-edge educational theory into curriculum, professional development and school design.
Thanks to a short film, a 9-year-old boy, who built an elaborate cardboard arcade inside his dad's used auto parts store, was treated to the best day of his life when dozens of people surprised him with a flashmob to play his games. The imaginative boy entrepreneur, Caine Monroy, became an internet sensation when the video, called Caine's Arcade, went viral (with 2.1 million views to date).
7-year-old Annie Clark has just won a national handwriting award, even though she has no hands. The Pennsylvania first-grader was born without hands but took home the trophy and $1,000.
A 17 year-old Michigan teen won the top award and $100,000 in the Intel Science Talent Search for his research on breast cancer, which could lead to more direct, targeted, and less toxic treatments.
High school basketball player Landus Anderson is one of the top players in the state of Florida averaging an impressive 19 points-per-game. And he does it all with the use of only one arm. His parents placed a basketball in his hand when he was only three, and saw the determination that would show up in all areas of his life -- academics, community service, and sports.
Since Boston Magazine published an article naming Lawrence, Massachusetts the City of the Dammed" and calling the residents godforsaken, an outraged community has been working to prove there are more positive things in the city than the label Nation's Stolen Car Capital would suggest. Taking matters into their own hands, a group of high school students have printed five issues of a newsletter, called What's Good In the Hood?, hand-delivering the positive news stories around town.
A 10-year-old girl was experimenting with a molecule-building set in her Montessori school when she created an unusual-looking specimen. Clara Lazen randomly arranged a unique combination of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon atoms, with the result being a molecule her teacher had never seen before. Intrigued, he photographed it and sent it to a chemistry professor at Humboldt State University in California, who discovered that not only was Lazen's molecule unique, it had the potential to store energy.
The Dutch are bicycle fanatics. Almost half of daily travel in the Netherlands is by bicycle. Devotees of the two-wheelers have taken the next logical step by launching what is likely the first bicycle school bus.
Who says science can't be fun? At the second annual White House Science Fair last week, President Obama got the chance to shoot a marshmallow across the State Dining Room using 14-year-old inventor Joey Hudy's "Extreme Marshmallow Cannon." (Video)
Gabe Marsh was raised to believe he is no different than anybody else. Now the athlete is inspiring more people as a finalist in America Inspired, a national contest sponsored by Examiner.com. His story was featured in the Huntsville Times, here.
A pair of brothers came into a video game shop. No sooner had the younger boy picked out his gift when his father insisted that he choose a more manly (shooter) game and scoffed at the boy's choice of a purple controller. Then, big brother stepped in.
Giselle Osborn was among a handful of youth chosen to travel to Haiti this past August as part of a delegation to build eco-friendly homes. Working side-by-side with the local villagers, they not only had to contend with oppressive heat, humidity and mosquitoes, but also the torrential rains of Hurricane Irene. Despite the miserable conditions, the Georgia teen is headed back again in mid-January to help a group of girls orphaned by the catastrophic earthquake of 2010.
Recent Stories
A Heartfelt Reminder to Appreciate the Ones We Love
Cherish the Woman Who Stands by You
Breaking Generational Cycles of Pain
Living by Your Own Values, Not Others' Approval
When Life Brings Rain, It’s Okay to Rest
Before You Judge Someone's Life, Take a Moment to Walk in Their Shoes.
A Friend Who Spreads Gossip is Not a True Friend at All
The Value of Human Connection Over Digital Convenience
The Quiet Kind of Love
One Day, Your Mom Won’t Call You Anymore
I’ve reached a point in my life...
Happiness is a mindset, a conscious choice we make every day