How Gitanjali Rao & 9 Other High School Women Shattering Glass Ceilings

Teens all around the world are finding ways to make an impact and for their voices to be heard. Read about 10 incredible high school women, including the projects they have launched, competitions they have one, and inventions they have developed in an effort to improve the lives of communities around the globe.

1. Nina & Ariana - When award-winning poets, Nina and Ariana, wanted to go one step further than their school literary magazine, they didn’t expect to be running a global magazine. But that’s exactly what Potted Purple has become with submissions and readers from around the world with a focus on giving Gen Z a platform to share their art - even leading to an interview with Yungblud!
2. Komal - From a young age, Komal has believed students should have more access to a career-oriented curriculum. So she started her own organization, BZBUCK, to do just that! With a commitment to teaching entrepreneurship, finance, and marketing to students of all ages, BZBUCK now has chapters around the world and has impacted nearly 10,000 students.
3. Angelina - Having lived throughout Europe her entire life and made her most recent move to Hong Kong, Angelina realized that she was, for the first time in her life, in the racial minority. She started the On My Mind podcast and joined the student-led organization, Inclusivity Hong Kong. Through her podcast, she shares her experiences as an international student, and how to start your own podcast!
4. Gitanjali Rao - In December 2020, Gitanjali Rao was named the first-ever TIME Magazine Kid of the Year. At 15-years-old, Gitanjali already has already been innovating for years having won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2017 with her invention, Tethys, a portable device to detect lead in water using carbon nanotubes. Since then, Gitanjali has developed apps to fight cyber-bullying and opioid addiction and has been inspiring thousands of students with her message to “observe, brainstorm, research, build and communicate.”
5. Yuko Nagakura - Growing up in Hawaii and San Francisco, it was easy to find a group of students to discuss social justice issues with. But moving back to Japan, Yuko Nagakura started to notice that feminism and social justice did not get many people talking. She started the SheQuality blog to raise awareness of sexism in Japan and then made the decision to join an online high school, Crimson Global Academy. After finding a group of like-minded students from around the world, the SheQuality blog now has an international team of authors raising awareness about the many forms of sexism that impact their lives. Yuko discusses starting the blog, the importance of working with a global community, and what other students should consider when creating any kind of content.
6. Kara Fan - In 2019, a 14-year-old Kara Fan won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge for her nano-silver liquid bandage. The win gave Kara some great prize money and the title of America's Top Young Scientist. Now 15, Kara reflects on how the idea came about, how she created nano-silver in her family kitchen, and her growing passion for bringing awareness to the problem of antibiotic resistance. Since then, Kara has adapted her project to assist with COVID-19 prevention and was a guest judge for the 2020 competition.
7. Maha - Maha is a 15-year-old from Aurora, Illinois, and is a self-proclaimed science nerd. With an interest in organizations that make a difference, Maha is now the Director of Science at ATHENA by Wi-STEM and a legislative ambassador for the American Cancer Society. Maha gives students an insight into how she has accelerated her learning outside of school, how she goes about contacting professors and politicians and why getting more girls involved in STEM is so important to her.
8. Ellen Xu - When she was 5 years old, Ellen Xu had a life-changing event. Now 15, Ellen has been conducting medical research into a rare heart condition. She took her project to a leading science and engineering fair where she became a finalist. Ellen is also the Global Director of Elevate the Future, a student-run organization bringing business and tech insights to students around the world. Hear from Ellen on how she got started in medical research and her tips for students wanting to do the same. She also describes how she connects with students in her role at Elevate the Future and what she hopes to achieve next.
9. Stephanie Wang - When COVID hit, so did mountains of misinformation. Armed with a love of science and a deep interest in epidemiology, Stephanie Wang went to work. At 16-years-old, she has now published a book called Epidemiology Unmasked and with the book royalties, she has donated 1000 masks to frontline health workers. She is also committed to addressing the root cause of misinformation and has not only taught hundreds of students the basics of public health, but she has also written lesson plans for biology students to teach them about epidemiology. Stephanie invites students to contact her for questions and to be sent her epidemiology curriculum so you can aim to include it in your school.

You can hear more from all of these students on Crimson’s Top of the Class podcast. If you would like to join the likes of these women in their journey to finding academic and career success through their passions, we invite you to learn more about Crimson Education and Crimson Global Academy - the organization and school through which these women are taking their resume and experience to the next level!