June 30, 2009
Posted: 03:31 PM ET
Johnny Strange, 17, is the youngest person to climb seven summits.
Johnny Strange, 17, is the youngest person to climb seven summits.

This is a first. I get to feature someone who beat the world record of another young person I featured. Samantha Larson was one of our first “Young People Who Rock.” She was then the youngest person to reach the Seven Summits at 18, an extraordinary feat. Now, Johnny Strange holds the the record.

At 17, he Johnny completed a journey he started with his dad five years ago. There is one climb per continent, including Mount Everest and Mount McKinley. His final summit climb was Australia’s 7,310-foot Mount Kosiuszko.

Johnny didn’t leave the tallest for last. He says that was because he wanted to appreciate the lone experience and not just part of the seven summit goal. At the end, he sent an email to his friends and family saying, “Never let anyone stifle your dreams no matter the feat, for if you have the heart and the courage, impossible is nothing.”

What would you like to ask Johnny? Post your questions here or at iReport.com. Be sure to watch my interview with Johnny on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CNN.com Live.

Filed under: Adventurers • Amazing talents • Under 20 • Youngest in the class


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June 22, 2009
Posted: 06:56 AM ET
Jaclyn Murphy, 14, and her dad started the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation to match ill children with sports teams.
Jaclyn Murphy, 14, and her dad started the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation to match ill children with sports teams.

Clad in Wildcat purple, you’d think she was another player . Jaclyn Murphy, 14, is too young to be a player. But, she’s definitely part of the women’s lacrosse team at my alma mater, Northwestern University.

After being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, she spoke to the team in Chicago. So moved by her story, they “adopted” her. The relationship was symbiotic. The team gave her hope through her medical treatments and Jaclyn gave the team something to play for. And play, they did. I remember watching Jaclyn rush the field when “her team” won their first national title in 2005. And, the ladies continue to win. Jaclyn has celebrated all five straight national titles with the players.

After seeing how she and the team thrived together, Jaclyn and her dad started The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. It’s an organization that matches up other kids like Jacyln with sports teams across the country. So far, 100 kids have been matched with 300 teams on a wait list.

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Community contributors • Under 20


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June 8, 2009
Posted: 08:21 AM ET
Jordan Coleman, 13, funded the documentary 'Say It Loud' to make a positive impact on his community.
Jordan Coleman, 13, funded the documentary 'Say It Loud' to make a positive impact on his community.

Jordan’s friends want to be the next Michael Jordan or rap star. But Jordan wants young African-American boys like him to focus on going to college first. Jordan, 13, used the money he made from being a voice-over actor on the Nickelodeon show “The Backyardigans” to get that message across through a documentary.

The 48-minute documentary is called “Say it Loud,” featuring Ludacris, Rev. Al Sharpton and Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker. Jordan says, “We wanted kids who are getting good grades, or men who’ve graduated from college to ’say it loud,’” Jordan says about the title of his film. “They need to be proud of what they’ve done and make sure they’re sending that message along with being a good athlete or a musician.”

Jordan is trying to show his peers that school is cool. His favorite interview of the movie was Kobe Bryant. “I never knew that his SAT scores were so high. He had such good scores he could’ve gone to any college he wanted to.”

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Amazing talents • Community contributors • Entertainer • Under 20


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June 1, 2009
Posted: 07:13 AM ET
Matt Certner, 18, founded the Sports Clinic for Children with Special Needs.
Matt Certner, 18, founded the Sports Clinic for Children with Special Needs.

Mikey and Matt were best friends. They vacationed together, they played sports together. But when Mikey was diagnosed with autism, the dynamics changed. “Particularly when he would try to play sports. Either the coaches would be too competitive to let him really participate or the kids would be callus,” Matt Certner says of the impetus for him starting Sports Clinic for Children with Special Needs.

Matt wanted to let kids like Mikey have a chance at an even playing field if they wanted to play sports. Matt started with one clinic in his hometown in New Jersey with volunteers from his high school, but in 2 1/2 years, the non-profit group has expanded to six in the state, helping approximately 100 special needs kids and their families. The kids play soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring. Like any other sports clinic, the kids get uniforms and trophies.

Matt, now 18, is going to Duke in the Fall, but plans to continue his work. “People say to me all the time, ‘Matt you got into college already, why are you still doing the clinic?’ I don’t do it for resume status. Ever since I was young I wanted to give back. I love it. I love the kids.”

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Community contributors • Stereotype busters • Under 20


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May 18, 2009
Posted: 06:44 PM ET
Jordan Foxworthy, 17, started the Bite Back campaign.
Jordan Foxworthy, 17, started the Bite Back campaign.

Her dad is the funny man, but Jordan Foxworthy is dealing with some serious issues. Jordan’s trip to Kenya when she was 14 years old inspired her to do what she could as a teen to fight malaria halfway across the world. After a trip to Kibera, Jordan teamed up with Compassion International to develop the Bite Back Campaign, an initiative that raises money and awareness for the disease.

Jordan, now 17, has raised $500,000 for the cause. She’s used Facebook and other social networking tools to challenge teens to donate $10 to purchase a mosquito net. Jordan encourages her peers “bite back” against the bug that kills more African children than HIV/AIDS.

On her famous father, Jeff Foxworthy, Jordan says, “He totally supports me and what I do with bite back but he doesn’t try to take over. He lets it be my thing.”

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Community contributors • Under 20 • Worldwide reach


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May 10, 2009
Posted: 03:57 PM ET
Elena Hight, 19, is an Olympic snowboarder.
Elena Hight, 19, is an Olympic snowboarder.

I didn’t know what a “backside 900” was before I started reading about how Elena Hight became the first female to land one in the 2007 Winter X-Games. Apparently, it’s trick where a snowboarder rotates 2½ times in the air with their back facing down the mountain. It’s probably one of the most difficult things in the sport, but when I saw Elena do it, it looked easy, like she was dancing or something.

Elena grew up in Hawaii, far away from any semblance of snow, much less a snowboard. When her family moved to Idaho, her dad got her one of the first snowboards for kids when she was 6 years old. She was one of the only girls doing it, but she was hooked.

“Making a career out of it is fairly recent thing,” Elena says of a sport that’s been around since the ’70s. Elena has done it though, with big-name sponsors and competing as the youngest member in her event in the 2006 Winter Olympics. As she looks to new, well, heights, she knows more people are watching the sport. “It’s a much bigger deal. A lot more pressure. But, I’ll be ready.”

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Amazing talents • Athletes • Olympics • Under 20 • Youngest in the class


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May 3, 2009
Posted: 04:04 PM ET
Zach Bonner, 11, is walking to the White House to raise awareness of homless children in the U.S.
Zach Bonner, 11, is walking to the White House to raise awareness of homless children in the U.S.

It all started during Hurricane Charlie. Zach Bonner, then just 6 years old, took his little red wagon door to door in his neighborhood to collect clean water for the victims. After four months, Zach had collected 27 truck loads of supplies.

“Some boys like football or baseball, Zach likes doing charity work,” his mom says. He liked it so much by the time hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, Zach’s family needed to set up a foundation because of the amount of monetary donations he was taking in. They named it Little Red Wagon Foundation, after the moniker he received around town during Charlie.

His latest mission doesn’t include the wagon, just his feet, and a 1,225-mile journey of the “My House to the White House” project. This is the last walk he is doing to raise money and awareness for the 1.3 million homeless kids in the United States. The money is going to setting up apartments for them. “It’s really hard not to help. Once you’ve met them and heard their stories, it’s hard not to want to help,” Zach, now 11, tells us.

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Community contributors • Social reformers • Stereotype busters • Under 20


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March 29, 2009
Posted: 03:25 PM ET
Winnie Phan, 16, educates kids on the importance of staying in school.
Winnie Phan, 16, educates kids on the importance of staying in school.

Winnie Phan grew up in a troubled home. Her parents didn’t support her education or give her the opportunities other kids her age enjoyed. By the time she managed to make it through grade school, she was on the road to becoming a statistic.

California has a 25% high school dropout rate, according to the California Board of Education. Nationwide, the dropout rate is about 31%. Winnie, now a junior, is determined to defy the statistic herself and inspire her contemporaries to do the same.

Winnie started Safe Walks in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, pairing up older kids with younger kids to make sure that everyone gets to and from school safely. “Growing up it was scary to walk home,” the now 16-year-old remembers. Taking the fear out of the commute, Winnie hopes, will get more kids staying in school.

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Community contributors • Social reformers • Stereotype busters • Under 20


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March 8, 2009
Posted: 10:48 PM ET
McKay Hatch, 16, encourages children and adults to avoid using profanity.
McKay Hatch, 16, encourages children and adults to avoid using profanity.

&*$%! Yup, it’s pretty common to hear four-letter words in school hallways. Some kids want to be cool by cussing like their friends. Some hear it from their parents. But, McKay Hatch didn’t want to hear it or say it.

When McKay was in 8th grade, he asked his friends not to cuss around him. Then he started the No Cussing Club. It started with 35 members, then it grew to more than 20,000 members — kids and adults, from 50 states and 30 countries. The reaction has been mixed. His site has been hacked, his family has received bomb and death threats. Prostitutes have even shown up to his house! But, his mission of civility keeps him going.

“It shows how much impact words have. Someone sent me an e-mail and said, ‘Your words become your action, action becomes your behavior, your behavior becomes your character, character becomes destiny.’ I hope that this brings greater understanding among people to show that words have meaning and can affect where you go in life,” McKay, 16, says. Last week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared the first week in March as No Cussing Week.

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Community contributors • Stereotype busters • Under 20


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January 11, 2009
Posted: 01:26 PM ET
Noah McCullough, 13, wrote 'First Kids: The True Stories of All the Presidents’ Children.'
Noah McCullough, 13, wrote 'First Kids: The True Stories of All the Presidents’ Children.'

Did you know that Sasha Obama’s real name is Natasha? That her sister’s name, Malia, means queen and calm in Swahili and Hawaiian Those are just a couple of the many facts 13-year-old Noah McCullough knows about the soon-to-be “first kids.”

Noah followed up with his first book on presidential trivia (yes, he is just 13) with his latest presidential history book, “First Kids: The True Stories of All the Presidents’ Children.” This whiz-kid historian put together information on all 43 presidents’ kids, from the games they play to their likes and dislikes. He discovered the White House, equipped with a movie theater and a bowling alley, is a cool place to grow up. Noah says all first kids are unique except for the fact that their father was put in charge of the Free World.

Noah himself has clear plans to run for president in 2032 when he is 37 years old. But, he tells us, “From writing the book I learned that the pressures of being a first kid affected some of the kids in a great way but for others the pressure was too much. If I have kids I will make sure they’re OK with it first.”

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Under 20


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About this blog

Nicole LapinYoung People Who Rock is a weekly interview series focused on people under 30 — from CEOs to entertainers to athletes to community and political leaders — who are doing remarkable things. Nicole Lapin finds them and introduces them here by writing a weekly column that goes out in time for you to chime in before she interviews them Fridays on CNN.com Live.

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