As the captain of Woodcreek High School’s speech and debate team, Riya was recently named an Academic All-American—the first female to hold this honor at her school in 27 years.

“This is an award that any competitive honor society can give out and you have to get 750 competitive points,” she explains. “You also have to get recommended by your coach and merit of character goes into it. I’ve been working towards this goal for quite a while now!”

Outside of school and extracurricular activities, Riya has snagged an internship as a legal clerk at a law firm. She plans to pursue a career as a lawyer.

“I’m open to different areas of law; ultimately, I want to be able to help people,” she says.

Guilty pleasure: Warm pumpkin pie.
Meal in town: Pinto Thai Bistro.
Movie/TV show: How I Met Your Mother.
Musician/band: Still Woozy and Bad Suns.
Book: The Floating World by Cynthia Kadohata.
Quote/saying: “Treat yo’ self!”—Parks and Recreation

Nico has played basketball, football, and volleyball for years, with volleyball being his current focus.

“I’ve been playing volleyball since I was in 7th grade. My favorite thing about the sport is traveling and meeting new people along the way,” he shares.

For the past eight years, this tremendous student athlete has found a way to combine both sports and charity work for his community.

“I ran an event during my birthday each year (December 21) where I would host sporting tournaments of some sort,” he says. “In order to participate, I would ask my friends to bring an unwrapped toy that would eventually be donated to foster kids for Christmas. Over eight years, I’ve been able to raise about 800 presents for foster kids.”

Though some of his sporting endeavors may be coming to an end, Nico plans to continue helping others.

“Ideally, I would want to attend Cal Poly and study kinesiology in hopes of pursuing a career in physical therapy,” he says.

Movie: Captain America: Civil War.
Book: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
Musician: J. Cole.

Tyler started playing football at the age of eight and it’s a sport he’s very passionate about.

“I love the competition and competitiveness that every day brings,” he says. “I always want to be the best and football is a sport to make you work for everything you want. I was always told that what I put in is what I’m going to get out of it.”

That hard work has paid off. As the varsity quarterback and 2021 NorCal Football Player of the Year, Tyler led his team to victory over notorious winners De La Salle, putting Folsom High School into the state championship game. Still, he credits team effort for their victory.

“The De La Salle game is by far the most memorable game I’ve played,” he says. “Just to be able to say we beat them is crazy. Coach Doherty called an amazing game and our whole team did their job.”

Aside from playing on the football field, Tyler has maintained a 4.0 GPA and we haven’t seen the end of his academic or football careers yet.

“As far as what I’m doing next year, I do plan to play football,” he says. “I just don’t know where yet!”

Escape: Football.
Guilty pleasure: Pizza.
Meal in town: Mas Taco Bar.
TV show: Criminal Minds.
Quote/saying: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”—Tim Notke

After the past few years, mental health has been a struggle for many—especially students. Lauryn Sumimoto—Vice Chair of the Youth Commission in El Dorado Hills and a teen voice in situations where adult decisions are being made—is doing something about it.

“Because of COVID-19, mental health is a key issue we’re facing for youth,” she says. “We try to do things like wristbands, books, and a mental health week to bring awareness. We have a lot of resources but students being aware of them is an issue.”

Aside from her community work with mental health, Lauryn is her class’s vice president. She also is the parliamentary captain for speech and debate along with being the science president for the Science Olympiad at Oak Ridge.

“For my mental health, I’m only doing things that I really love,” she says. “The little things all seem overwhelming sometimes but when you do what you love, everything will come together in the end.”

Escape: Listening to music.
Movie: Marley and Me.
TV show: Gossip Girl.
Musician: Bruno Mars.
Book: Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, and Tobias Iaconis.
Quote: “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”
—Oscar Wilde

When Ally was 10 years old, she developed a curious bald spot on the back of her head. She was diagnosed with Alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that goes after hair follicles.

Fast-forward seven years and Ally began to experience a great deal of hair loss. Stress can trigger this—and the pandemic was a likely trigger. She was left about 70% bald, in denial, and frustrated.

Then, Ally made a change this past September 1st, which is Alopecia Awareness Day.

“I wanted to turn the negative feeling I felt into a positive one by writing a children's book to teach about Alopecia areata and normalize it,” she says.

Ally’s book, Alisha & Alopecia can be purchased by visiting the link on her Instagram (@allysalerno), at Roseville’s Learning Express Toys, and on Amazon.

“My goal is to sell a copy of my book to someone in every U.S. state,” she says. “That way, I’ll know my book has touched lives all over the country!”

Escape: Anywhere in Florida.
Guilty Pleasure: Baking.
TV Show: The Good Place.
Musicians: Post Malone and Drake.
Saying: "The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit."— Fabienne Fredrickson