CA's Rising Stars Of 2025: Local Heroes, National Inspirations

CALIFORNIA — American anthropologist Margaret Mead famously said,"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

While 2024 had plenty of news events that made us clutch our chests, it was also filled with stories that give us hope for a brighter 2025 and on into the future.

Here's a reminder of some of the rising stars in California:

1. Long Beach 1st Grader A Semifinalist In NASA Competition: The 6-year-old Long Beach girl's project proposed exploring the largest of Saturn's moons, Titan.
2. San Ramon Student Speaks At United Nations: The NorCal student spoke at the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit about her work educating underprivileged children in India.
3. Mr. Long Beach Pride Candidate Raises Money For LGBTQ+ Students: Candidate Diego Villela said he fell in love with the city and the welcoming LGBTQ+ community in Long Beach.
4. Livermore Little League Team Is Best In Western USA: The team dominated the Intermediate World Series and made it to the U.S. Championship games.
5. Praying Street Vendor Goes Viral In the South Bay: Report: A Gardena fruit vendor's moment of faith before starting his workday went viral on TikTok, helping him in his goal to provide for his family.
6. Pleasanton Student Wins President's Volunteer Service Award: Kavya Vijayabaskar won the Gold designation for spending over 100 hours volunteering with Kids Against Hunger this year.
7. Underdogs In South Bay Robotics Comp Come From Behind To Win: The Beach Cities Robotics team, based in Redondo Beach, headed to the First Robotics World Championships after winning its first regional competition in 10 years.
8. San Ramon Student Donates Over 500 STEM Kits: Aahan Sharma's Joule Junction gave away kits with STEM activities to hundreds of children, including those in foster homes, this year.
9. Beaumont Astronaut To Spend 6 Months On International Space Station: Tracy Dyson, a graduate of Beaumont High School, is a flight engineer on the International Space Station, on the Expedition 71 Crew.
10. City Council Honors K-Pop Group Seventeen For Empowering LA Youth: Seventeen, a music group from South Korea, were recognized at the meeting for their role as UNESCO's first goodwill ambassadors for youth in Los Angeles.
11. Contra Costa Shark Tank Youth Competition Winners Announced: Three winners received $1,750 in prizes at the finalist pitch event in Lamorinda.
12. Bronny James Drafted To Lakers, Making NBA History: Report: LeBron and Bronny James make history by becoming the first father-son pair to play in the NBA at the same time.
13. San Ramon Students Help Hundreds Of Refugees: Open Arms Refugee, founded by two Dougherty Valley High School seniors, raised $10,000 to help refugees in the United States.
14. RivCo Woman Wins 'American Idol' Season 22: Abi Carter hails from Indio. She was crowned champ on this year.
15. 3 Californians Tapped For Highly Prestigious 'Genius Grants': The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation made the selections that were announced earlier this month.
16. San Diego Student To Represent CA In U.S. Senate Youth Program: Only two California students were chosen for the competitive program.
17. Danville Student's Film Screened In Times Square: SRVHS senior Patricia Liu's animated music video was nominated for the prestigious Teen Indie Awards.
18. South OC Actress Dazzles In 2nd Lifetime Thriller Movie Of 2024: A south Orange County actress is celebrating the release of her second Lifetime movie this year.
19. USD Alum Jonny Kim Assigned To First Space Station Mission: NASA astronaut Jonny Kim earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of San Diego.
20. Temecula Culinary Student Dishes Sizzle In Burger Battle Competition: TVUSD culinary students went head to head in a "loaded fries" competition while restaurants vied for "best burger" in the Temecula Valley.