MAKE IT CUTE

Winter Vinecki, 16

When Winter Vinecki was 9, her father was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of prostate cancer—and died 10 months later. Wanting to raise awareness about a disease that affects so many, Winter sprang into action and embarked on a journey to run a marathon on every continent. As the face of Team Winter, she set the world record for the youngest person ever to do it—and the global awareness has helped raise close to $500,000 to fund prostate cancer research and awareness. Winter is now a hopeful in aerial skiing for the 2018 Winter Olympics. “I love being a role model for girls,” she says, “and helping them realize they can do anything.”

Willa Doss, 14

Willa is an incredible listener. Of course, she's a lot of other things, too—the founder of a super successful beauty company, for starters—but it's her ability to pay attention that took willa from a cool beauty brand to an empowering business opportunity for girls across the country. Relying on focus groups along with social media for marketing and customer feedback, Willa decided it was more than just about skincare. There was an opportunity to give girls a real measure of financial independence—by selling willa products themselves. “The goal is for girls help others make smart skincare choices while building a business along the way,” she says. “This is about taking a chance on yourself to change the definition of beauty.”

Paulina Raguimov, 20

Life for recent high school grad Paulina Raguimov is all fun and games—literally. At 20, she works as a video game developer for California tech company JumpStart. “All my life, I knew I wanted to have a creative job,” she says. “It never occurred to me that I could design and write for video games.” Paulina, in fact, didn't know if she'd even be able to pursue her passion—her grades were not great, she says, and she wasn't sure she was qualified. But one day, she found herself at the right place at the right time and found the strength to go for it. After scoring an internship at JumpStart, she pitched an idea for a new game that got her hired (and was created by the company). “I was out of my comfort zone,” she says, “but the more I talked, the easier it was.”

Noa Mintz, 15

For Noa Mintz, babysitting is way more than just a summer job. After starting Nannies by Noa three years ago, the enterprising 15-year-old’s company now serves nearly 200 clients. It all began when Noa was 7 years old and fed up with her own less-than-stellar babysitters. “For what people pay, I thought the kids should be more stimulated,” she reflects. “You need to get more bang for your buck.” Unsatisfied with the status quo, she worked to gather more qualified and engaging caregivers—and now supervises a team of 75 sitters and full-time nannies. When not working on growing her business, Noa’s a normal teen. “I'm not an A+ student,” she says, “but I've realized that book smarts aren't the same as entrepreneurial smarts. I've tried to channel the business to give me more confidence in school.”

Jilly Dos Santos,18

Jilly knows the value of a good night’s rest. So when she found out her town's school board was considering moving the school day's start time even earlier in the morning, she gathered her courage and spoke up. With the support of her friends and fellow students, Jilly organized the student body against the proposal—and they won. It was more than just a success for the sleep-deprived, however. Through her action against the school board, Jilly learned that standing up for what you believe in all starts with the first step, big or small. “Basically, if there's something you want to change and you don't see others acting, there's no reason why you yourself can't,” she says. “There are so many ways to make a difference that matter just as much as a big campaign that gets media attention.”

Isabella Rose Taylor, 14

When Isabella Rose Taylor waved to the applauding crowd after her New York Fashion Week runway show last year, you'd never know it was her first collection—or that she was the youngest designer ever to present her own line. This style prodigy fell in love with fashion during a sewing class at age 8, and her dream of designing developed from there. “I've had many people tell me I couldn't do it,” Isabella says, “but I followed my passion.” And it paid off: Her contemporary line is now at Nordstrom, and critics are hailing her as a rising talent. “I'm inspired by the world around me—my clothes are collection for the ever evolving teen spirit. I want to provide girls with clothing that reflects who we are.”

Aija Mayrock, 19

Like many other girls, Aija Mayrock was bullied in middle school and high school. But unlike many other girls, she did something about it: self-published a bullying survival guide to help kids get through the tough times and create the life they want. The Survival Guide to Bullying, which she wrote in high school, involved intensive research and interviews and was first published this past October. Since its homegrown success, the handbook has now been purchased by Scholastic and has spurred Aija to spread her message by speaking at schools across the country. Publishing the book has been more than just a big step for Aija's career, however. “By writing about what I went through, I was able to heal myself and let go of my past. I never imagined that could happen," she says. “In the book, I tell kids to be their own superhero. Sometimes no one is there to save you but yourself, so that's what I did. I took charge of my life and went on to pursue my dreams."

Rachel Doyle

As a passionate teen looking to honor her grandmother, Rachel Doyle started the first GlamourGals chapter when she was 17 years old. Through the program, teen volunteers provide companionship and complimentary makeovers to women living in senior homes, helping to connect generations. Now, fifteen years later, Rachel oversees more than 90 high school and college volunteer chapters and has been recognized by magazines and television shows across the country. She frequently speaks at colleges, nonprofits and conferences and has received numerous awards for her involvement with GG. When not working with her company, she loves to exercise her creative and entrepreneurial skills in other avenues. “I get excited at the opportunity to be part of a process in which the ideas shared will help create something, push a project forward or even change someone’s life,” she says.

Lauren Berger

Ever dreamed of having an amazing internship at a cool company? Lauren Berger had 15—in four years. Known as “The Intern Queen,” she decided to launch her own business to help high school students and college grads benefit from her extensive knowledge of the job and internship market. Now, hundreds of thousands of students check out her site each month for career advice, opportunities and more. She has published two best-selling books for young professionals, is a contributing writer for magazines and news outlets and frequently speaks at events across the country. “I realized there was a lack of information for young people about how to be successful with their internships and careers,” she says. “A light bulb went off: 'What if I were the person that helped other people get their dream jobs?'” When she's not helping others, she says, she's running her personal career on her own terms: “My motto is never take no for an answer, decide what you want to do and go out and make it happen.”