Time Magazine released its first ever Kid of the Year honor and a Colorado teen took home the title.
Gitanjali Rao, a 15-year-old from Lone Tree, was named the 2020 Kid of the Year, beating out more than 5,000 Americans between the ages of 8 and 16.
Rao has worked on and developed technological solutions to a variety of issues that plague the world, from contaminated drinking water to opioid addiction and cyberbullying.
She was previously named to the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list and Colorado Inno’s 2019 25 Under 25 list for her work in developing a solution that detects lead in water with the help of a mobile app.
As part of the honor, Rao was interviewed over video by Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie on her current projects and what’s next.
Rao is currently developing Kindly, an app and Chrome extension that detects cyberbullying at an early stage, based on AI technology.
Kindly’s AI is able to identify language that could be considered bullying, and it gives the user the option to edit it or send it the way it is.
“As a teenager, I know teenagers tend to lash out sometimes. Instead, it gives you the chance to rethink what you’re saying so that you know what to do next time around,” Rao told Jolie.
She is also working on a way to help detect bio-contaminants in water and create an inexpensive and accurate solution for people in third-world countries.
When asked about the lack of women in science and technology, Rao said she aims to send a message that if she can do it, anyone can do it.
“I don’t look like your typical scientist. Everything I see on TV is that it’s an older, usually white man as a scientist. It’s weird to me that it was almost like people had assigned roles, regarding like their gender, their age, the color of their skin. My goal has really shifted not only from creating my own devices to solve the world’s problems, but inspiring others to do the same as well,” she said to Time.
The other finalists include Tyler Gordon, 14, from San Jose, California; Jordan Reeves, 14, from Columbia, Missouri; Bellen Woodard, 10, from Leesburg, Virginia; and Ian McKenna, 16, from Austin, Texas.
Each of the five finalists will be designated a Time for Kids Kid Reporter, given opportunities to contribute to Time, and will receive a cash prize from ViacomCBS, Nickelodeon’s owner.
