2026
Hometown Hero
Celebrating the Stories That Bring Communities Together
Through research, creativity, and thoughtful storytelling, these students brought the remarkable people in their communities to a wider audience.
Thank you to every student who shared a story, and to the heroes whose dedication inspired this year’s work.
2026
Awards
Winners
Grand Prize
Yu Angela Guo
Jury Special Award - Health & Nutrition Innovation Award
Nathan Junhao Qiu
Multimedia Presentation Category
Winner: Navid Modanlou
2nd Prize: Zirui Wang
3rd Prize: Amy Hong & Kristina Sun & Marilyn Huang
Podcast / Audio Story Category
Winner: Jinting Ellery Zhan & Zixi Wang
2nd Prize: Peiling Jiang & Minghan Li
3rd Prize: Jiaxia Gai
Visual Art & Photography Category
Winner: Zihao Huang
2nd Prize: Max Mai
3rd Prize: Edward Liu
Regional Honorable Mention: Dafang Bi
Written Profile Category
Winner: Ruohan Ye
2nd Prize: William Wang
3rd Prize: Xihan Chen
Regional Honorable Mentions: Yuanchuang Fu, Ganzi Kong, Jintong Wei
Documentary Film Category
Winner: Jialu Peng
2nd Prize: Ann Han
3rd Prize: Shuyao Liu
Regional Honorable Mention: Chengyun Huang
