Santiago Ortega-Brown

Growing up with a family member who faces cognitive challenges, Santiago identified that "the most significant challenge in our current use of technology is not simply access to technology, but access to inclusive technology that serves all learners."

At a camp for students with disabilities, Santiago witnessed adaptive technology's transformative power, from helping a student discover coding through screen-reading software to enabling a child with speech difficulties to share stories using text-to-voice technology.

"Is it ethically wrong for society not to work towards meeting individuals' needs when technology and know-how exist? Yes, it is," Santiago asserts.

He plans to pursue biomedical engineering to create systems where "universal accessibility is a foundational principle, not a supplemental feature."

Varsha Vijay

Inspired by an image of a polar bear stranded on melting ice, Varsha set out to use AI for climate solutions. However, her work with wildfire prediction models and 72,000 wildfire records revealed a troubling reality: "Data isn't always as neutral, objective, or useful as we assume."

Varsha discovered how inconsistent reporting and missing data led to predictions that overlooked vulnerable communities. She advocates for ethical data practices that empower local communities, writing: "AI is not an all-powerful solution, nor is data an unquestionable truth. They are tools, only as good as the hands that shape them."

Ariana Bello

Ariana tackles how technology reduces our lives into "trackable habits, curated content, and algorithm-fed identities." Through her personal experience and observations of her peers, she names a profound dilemma affecting us all: "In our desire to be seen, we have stopped considering whether we are being truly understood."

As founder of her school's Film Club, Ariana encourages members to analyze how characters in art resist objectification.

She also practices digital mindfulness, keeping some creative works private and shares— "Some poems stay folded inside drawers. Some paintings never leave their canvas.”

"The issue with technology is not just in wires or codes, it is in the mirror it holds up to us... We are stories and souls not made for display."

Shawn Ray

Through 900+ hours of tutoring peers via "Coding With Shawn," Shawn discovered how adaptive learning systems misinterpret ESL students' understanding as knowledge gaps.

His response combines technical solutions and advocacy: developing data models that capture student capabilities beyond binary metrics, creating culturally responsive testing through his Code Next LMS project, and organizing "Algorithmic Bias Hackathons" where students audit educational software.

"This systemic blindness extends beyond language barriers," Shawn writes, positioning himself as both developer and activist to bridge technical expertise with human insight.