Small Golfer, Big Dreams: Autumn Taylor is teeing up for greatness.
By Sondra Barr Photos courtesy of Autumn Taylor At just 9 years old, Autumn Taylor already has a clear vision for her future—and it involves fairways, flags, and a whole lot of focus. “I told my parents I wanted to ...
Cool Kid: “Mari” McWilliams and her big idea.
By Naya Seth Photos courtesy of the McWilliams family At just 13 years old, Mariana “Mari” McWilliams is already making waves as an entrepreneur. Inspired by others starting businesses, she launched Mari’s Gold—a snow cone stand named after the marigold ...
Sweet Success: Meet the 13-year-old helping run a growing donut business.
By Naya Seth Photos courtesy of the Gallegos family While most 13-year-olds are figuring out their favorite donut flavor, Gracee Gallegos is busy making them—and helping run the shop that serves them! Gracee isn’t just any donut fan—she’s part of ...
Big Ideas, Bold Bonds: Shadow Mountain’s DAAPS experience cultivates confident scholars and critical thinkers.
By Sondra Barr Photos courtesy of PVSchools At Shadow Mountain High School, there’s a classroom where the mornings are anything but ordinary. It’s home to DAAPS—the Digital Academy of Advanced Placement Scholars—a program that offers students like Avah Montgomery, Jaron ...
ASU PREP POLY STUDENTS EARN TOP HONORS IN WORLD ROBOTICS COMPETITION
All-Girl Team from Mesa Receives Honor Award at CREATE Jr. Robotics World Championship An all-girl robotics team from Mesa earned the top award at this year’s CREATE Jr US Open World Championship, a robotics competition held in Council Bluffs, Iowa, ...
The Science of Supplements: Epic Kids reporter Naya Seth Takes a Tour of Plexus
By Naya Seth Photos by Sondra Barr Did you know that your gut health can have a big impact on your overall well-being? Plexus Worldwide is a company that creates supplements for all ages to support a healthy gut. I ...
Gateway Students Sarahi and Marisol Shine as Young Leaders–Kids Congress program offers students the opportunity to provide input on key topics
Photos courtesy of Creighton School District At Gateway School in the Creighton School District, two remarkable students, Sarahi Mariche and Marisol Saldana, are making a significant impact as members of Creighton Kids Congress. This program brings together student representatives from ...
McKenna Bein Rides into the Spotlight at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show
By Sondra Barr Photos courtesy of the Bein family For McKenna Bein, horses aren’t just a hobby—they’re a way of life. The 18-year-old senior at Cactus Shadows High School has been riding since she was big enough to sit in ...
Innovation in Action–Inside Paradise Valley’s premier STEM Program–through the eyes of its students.
By Sondra Barr At Paradise Valley High School, a group of students is proving that the future of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is in good hands. The CREST program, a four-year Honors STEM initiative, challenges young minds to ...
Tempe Sixth Grader Markus Amdam Bang Joins Legendary Vocalist Sarah Brightman on Stage
By Sondra Barr Markus Amdam Bang, a sixth grader at Tempe Prep Academy, achieved what many musicians only dream of. This past December, Markus took the stage at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, singing angelic duets with legendary vocalist ...
Goal-Setting Fun: How to create a vision board to turn your ideas into action.
For the new year, our family thought it would be a great idea to make vision boards to visualize the goals we plan on accomplishing. A vision board is a fun and fulfilling project. I think it’s important to make ...
Notre Dame Prep Students Bring Veterans’ Stories to Life
By Sondra Barr For Michael Swerlyk, an 18-year-old senior at Notre Dame Preparatory High School (NDP), enrolling in the elective course Imprints of Honor was about stepping out of his comfort zone. “I wasn’t very familiar with the military or ...
Big Hearts, Bright Minds: Boulder Creek Elementary students have the recipe for civic and educational success
By Sondra Barr Photos courtesy of Boulder Creek Elementary Boulder Creek Elementary School isn’t just about top grades—it’s a place where students grow into leaders who make a real difference in their community. For the second year in a row, ...
Phoenix Day School for the Deaf Students Win Big at Robotics Competition
Photo courtesy of Phoenix Day School for the Deaf Phoenix Day School for the Deaf (PDSD) middle school students Owen, Espi, and Samuel recently competed and won at the VEX IQ Robotics Competition. The VEX IQ Robotics Competition is an ...
Checkmate Champ: Meet 9-year-old chess wiz Aayansh Guntaka
By Naya Seth Photos courtesy of the Guntaka family Aayansh Guntaka is gaining both smarts and awards! This 9-year-old chess prodigy has competed in tournaments worldwide, quickly becoming one of the best in the U-9 category. Aayansh’s interest in chess ...
From Dance Studio to Runway: Eleven-year-old Gilbert dancer shares her story about walking the runway at Los Angeles Fashion Week
By Carly Stidham Photo courtesy of the Stidham family I’ve been dancing for as long as I can remember. My mom says I started when I was 3, twirling around the house to whatever music was playing. Seeing how much ...
Local Student Miles Bair Impresses at International Geography Championships
Photo courtesy of the Bair Family Miles Bair, a fifth grader from Kiva Elementary School recently represented Arizona on the global stage at the Third International Geography Championships in Vienna, Austria. Miles is passionate about geography, and his hard work ...
Making Waves: Meet Josie Dolan, the 13-year-old swimmer chasing her Paralympic dream!
By Naya Seth Photos courtesy of the Dolan family Josie Dolan, a 13-year-old swimmer, is striving for greatness! She started swimming when she was just 9 months old and has loved the sport ever since, saying her favorite part about ...
