2026 Winners
1st Place
Sahana Prakash
Junior, Rock Hill High School – Prosper, Texas
I am a rising senior at Rock Hill High School in Prosper, Texas. I am passionate about using technology to improve education and create meaningful opportunities for students. As the founder of Student Mode, I lead an initiative that promotes AI literacy and cybersecurity through workshops and chapters globally, impacting more than 300 younger students so far. Outside of academics, I am a varsity tennis athlete and I love to travel, try new things, and spend time with friends and family. After high school, I plan to study CS or Informatics and pursue a career with technology and innovation to create change.
2nd Place
Varchas Bhoolokam
Junior, Round Rock High School – Round Rock, Texas
Varchas Bhoolokam is a rising senior at Round Rock High School in Texas. He is passionate about law, policy, and business. Varchas is the founder of H4Pathways, where he directs a policy initiative that offers career education opportunities to immigrant students holding dependent visas. The initiative hopes to find alternate methods of career exposure for these students due to their visa work restrictions. He also volunteers for the local county’s Teen Court Program, where he acts as an attorney for teen misdemeanor offenders in sentencing trials to aid in the rehabilitation process. Varchas intends to study business and humanities before pursuing law. He hopes to continue using his skills to help make an impact in his community throughout college. In his free time, Varchas enjoys watching movies, playing soccer, and spending time with friends and family.
3rd Place
Karl Cezar
Junior, Manvel High School – Manvel, Texas
I am a senior at Manvel High School in Manvel, Texas. I currently serve as vice president of my school’s Model UN club, and have received local awards for my position papers and skills as a delegate. Additionally, I’ve participated in UIL Spelling and Vocabulary, where I had the pleasure of making it to state. Outside of academics, I am an intern for the Alvin ISD STEM Bus, where I continue to introduce elementary schoolers to foundational STEM topics like atomic structure and programming. In my free time, I enjoy journaling and reading webcomics.
Honorable Mention
Joanna Qiu
Junior, James Martin High School – Arlington, Texas
Joanna Qiu is an incoming senior at James Martin High School in Arlington, Texas. She is involved in her school’s varsity Choir, Martin Student News, NHS, Book Club, and more. She is passionate about equipping others with the power of education as early in life as possible. In hopes of eventually becoming an elementary school teacher, she interns in nearby elementary schools in her district and voluntarily tutors others in her spare time. Outside of school, she holds a part-time job as a hostess in the restaurant her parents also work at, and she enjoys being a leader in her church community, playing guitar, reading books, and hanging out with her friends.
Honorable Mention
Audrey Li
Junior, Seven Lakes High School – Katy, Texas
Audrey Li is a senior at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas. A passionate musician, she founded the nonprofit organization Music of Harmony to bring live music to senior living centers, serves as concertmaster for the North American Youth Chinese Orchestra, and studied traditional Chinese music performance at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in the summer of 2026. In addition to her musical pursuits, she is an avid environmentalist and journalist whose work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, E: The Environmental Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times. Audrey aims to leverage these mediums—music, journalism, and advocacy—to uplift underserved communities and foster cultural appreciation. Looking ahead, she plans to study public policy and business to connect her interdisciplinary passions.