The Summer We Were All Pretty Awestruck by Amazing Girls
Last August amid cascades of The Summer I Turned Pretty memes, Être proudly spotlit the summer accomplishments of amazing next gen girls. By popular demand we’re bringing this feature back in a two-part series – shouting from atop lifeguard chairs the impressive things Être girls have going on right now.
As we eye the last weeks of summer and get ready to fill classroom and boardroom seats, take a fast look at how 50 global girls spent Summer 2026.
(Alphabetical from A to Z; ages from 7 to 22)
Here are the first 25…get ready to be awestruck:
"This summer, I had the exceptional opportunity to live in Rennes, France for a month with CIEE, participating in language and cultural immersion activities and experiences. I lived with a host family and made connections with like-minded peers across the US as well as France, learning so much about not only the language but myself." - Abby Gamble
"This summer I attended the UCA WAVES Mental Health Summit in Las Vegas. I was selected as a lightning talk presenter and advocated for the importance of cultural arts and AAPI mental health awareness." - Aditi Ediga
"I am the founder of Casten, a youth-led cybersecurity initiative using AI-powered tools and education to make digital safety more accessible for families and communities. Through Casten I hope to inspire others to see themselves as creators, leaders and innovators – that was my focus this summer!" - Aditi Ranjan
"I attended Teen Vogue Fest through Être this summer - it was truly a life-changing experience, and I couldn’t be more grateful! I met so many amazing people (like Sydnie Collins) and I would love to get more involved with Être and potentially do a TED-Ed talk!" - Anaya Andre
"This summer has been a whirlwind of conferences! I have spent time at the Governor’s Conference and the Conference on National Affairs representing Texas, as well as Texas Bluebonnet Girls State and the American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation. I have also been doing research on the side at Stanford on censorship in colonial India and spending time catching up on my hobbies!" - Anvika Jain
"This summer, I was selected as one of 18 youth participants from the United States, Kosovo, and the Republic of Korea for the U.S. Department of State’s three-week ODYLP Excellence in AI and Global Leadership Exchange. I traveled to Seattle and Washington, D.C. to learn from engineers and leaders at major AI and technology companies while receiving mentorship for a post-program project examining how AI is transforming education and workforce pathways in my region." - April Surac
"I searched for stories in everything this summer – from beachside injuries to Teen Vogue festivals to frozen yogurt creations! I also loved shadowing an orthopedic surgeon to pick up the fast-paced balance between discovering a patient’s history and giving them the diagnosis they need." - April Yu
"This summer I've been diving into entrepreneurship and creating a startup that focuses on making soccer accessible for visually impaired fans! Along with that, I'm also advocating for more open access for the youth in neuroscience." - Carol Warren
"This summer I've been bonding with senior citizens in my local community through technology help sessions. I help them set up new devices, manage hearing aid apps, recover passwords, and improve device functionality. My goal is to give them the tools and confidence to solve future issues on their own. I am making friends and getting great life advice in return!" - Daniela Hochstadt
"Right now I am participating and leading my school's inaugural class of our very own Summer Advanced Research Institute, in addition to interning for Jill Oberlander's political campaign for State Senate!" - Daya Garcha
"Over the summer, my podcast, Story Central, has grown to reach listeners in more than 50 countries and territories. I've also been creating incredible new episodes for my second show, Viral Is My Middle Name, featuring some of the incredible people shaping today. I've also started another podcast, Chemistry Confidential: Molecular Mysteries,sharing historical mysteries solved using science, making science more accessible to everyone!" - Ditya Viral
"I got to spend more time volunteering at my local temple and travelled up to New Jersey to speak at an event of over 1300 people!!" - Diya Shah
"This summer has been a huge season of change! I landed my first big girl job as a freelance data analyst and have been getting ready to move to Michigan to start university this fall. Alongside that, I've been writing fun, accessible technology research articles for my organization, NexifyLab. We've now published nearly 30,000 words and recently began collaborating with PhD researchers to make research more accessible to students around the world!" - Elif Sena Aydin
"This summer I am working as a fellow at the Hill Art Foundation, where I am conducting research on the current exhibition and touring different museums around New York City. I am also teaching my Art History Class to 4th and 5th graders at local community centers and creating a mural featuring student artwork." - Elsa Reisman
"This summer I am conducting research at the Muschen Lab, here at the Yale School of Medicine, on improving Leukemia treatments to become more specific and efficient, in both T-ALL and B-ALL. It's been a steep learning curve, but so very enjoyable!" - Frida Zu
"I've been organizing Next Nebula Space Camp 2026, a free virtual space camp bringing together students from India, Afghanistan, South Africa, and other countries to learn from experts associated with ISRO, NASA, and ESA! Our goal is to make quality space education accessible to young people who may never have had the opportunity to explore the field before. I was inspired to pursue space by Dr. Kate Rubins during my time at Space Camp, and today, many young people in India are being inspired by Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla. With the global space sector growing rapidly, I believe it's more important than ever to introduce the next generation to space science, engineering, and research, not just as something fascinating, but as a field where they can build meaningful careers and solve real-world challenges." - Geet Mauli
"I am gaining tremendous experience and having an absolute blast interning with NBC News as a Digital Editorial Intern for TODAY.com. I’ve authored over 20 bylines in my first month, including in-person interviews with Lexi Minetree and June Diane Raphael for the premiere of Hello Sunshine’s ELLE series!" - Georgie Gassaro
"This summer, I am leading other high school and college students in neuroscientific research specializing in the field of brain-computer interfaces and neuroprosthetics! I also explored materials science engineering alongside PhD students and professors at Drexel University and will be attending the Exelon STEM Academy in August! Lastly, I will partake in the Armenian National Committee of America's youth engagement program in Washington, DC, 1 of 15 students selected to attend!" - Grace Vartanian
"I am having a great summer! Released on June 2nd, I was featured as one of 14 in No Brain the Same: Neurodivergent Young Activists Shaping Our Future, a children’s book that lifts up neurodiversity. The majority of my summer has been spent completing two large research projects that have been accepted for publication. The first is a peer- reviewed journal article in The International Journal of Qualitative Research in Education about the barriers that Black disabled girls face in unsupportive school systems. The second piece is a chapter in the forthcoming book Teens on Screens in the 21st Centuryand my chapter is a chapter on bullying. I also did an invited keynote on the steps of the Capitol building in Sacramento where I focused on being bold, having agency, and how teen voices are as important as any adult voice without question! Finally, I was excited that my image was used for a National Education Association’s poster supporting public education." – Helena Donato-Sapp
"This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to serve as a motivational speaker at a girls’ youth camp with more than 250 attendees. I also had the honor of giving my first TEDx talk, where I shared the importance of confidence and believing in yourself. It was a humbling experience that reminded me of the power of encouraging others to step boldly into who they are." -Honor Smoke
"I am seven years old and I enrolled in an online course at Harvard University called introduction to Family Engagement in Education. I want to take the ideas I discovered to share and connect other kids on YouTube and in person in workshops!" - Israel McGee
"I'm continuing ovarian cancer research in Dr. Alix Berglund's lab this summer, investigating TGF-B/SMAD signaling in CaOV3 cells, alongside my work as a Research Associate in RAP-EMCC. I'm also growing STEM Up — my nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering girls and women in STEM — which is now officially a 501(c)3 with an expanded 16-member leadership team from across the U.S. and internationally. We've held two successful science workshops and our first international educational toolkit drives in Morocco, are finalists in the international U21 RISE competition!" -Jehan Idsassi
"This summer I passed a law in NJ state government to honor my rare disease, declaring November 7th as Shwachman Diamond Syndrome Awareness Day! I aspire to have the impact and strength of Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton in politics one day." - Joyce Fitz
"This summer I'm leading Teach to Lead's first Literary Fest in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. As the founder of Teach to Lead and a Youth Ambassador for the World Literacy Foundation, I'm partnering with local entrepreneurs who are donating a portion of their day's sales to support our free bilingual education and digital literacy initiatives for underserved students." - Judith Ramos
"This summer started off great as I performed with Alan Walker at the Enhanced Games and now I’m working on some live performances for my socials that I’ll perform with my dad and sister Izzy. We’re all learning the chords and harmonies and I’ll play piano on some and Izzy will play on others. Two of the songs are by Freya Skye: Who I Thought I Knew and Maybe Tomorrow." - Katherine O’Ryan
Impressed? I don't blame you.
Applauding? I'm right there with you.
And what's almost more inspiring that what these leaders are telling us is the way they are telling us.
With delight instead of deflection. With pride and purpose rather than pretension. The joy imbued in every email and DM we receive overtakes us like a wave, and there is so much more to come.
Stay tuned for Part 2 next week, and in the meantime keep your eyes squarely on the 25 stars you just met. Sunglasses needed - these futures are bright.
Looking forward,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Three more places you'll spot Gen Z rockstars this summer: sharing positive community service activities with Olivia Rodrigo's Daisy Chain Fields, applying for spots as Campus Ambassadors and Youth Council members with brands they love, and gearing up for TED-Ed talks in NYC this fall.
