1. Simone Biles was born in Columbus, Ohio, and spent time with her siblings in foster care because of her mother’s addiction. Starting at just six years old, Simone Biles made herself well-known in the gymnastics industry. Simone began training at Bannon’s Gymnastics and quickly progressed in her skills. Simone holds the most world champion medals and Olympic medals for gymnasts overall. Simone is known for her revolutionary skills and unmatched dominance in athletes’ mental health.

2. Maria Machado was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Machado is an activist who fights to have Venezuela be a free, fair, and democratic country. Machado was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to change Venezuela from a dictatorship to a democracy. Over the years, Machado has faced challenges when confronting Maduro’s controls. Machado also founded the Atenea Foundation in 1992 for homeless children.

3. Christian Happi is a professor of Molecular Biology and Genomics, along with being the director of Genomics and Global Health. Happi shifted Africa from receiving help from other countries to actually doing its own research and making important discoveries in genomics. Happi studied and graduated from the University of Ibadan. Happi works to research DNA and molecular biology, such as infectious diseases and genomics. In 2019, Happi was awarded the HUGO African prize, and in 2020, he was awarded the Bailey K. Ashford medal.

4. Angeline Murimirwa is the Chief Executive of CAMFED, Campaign for Female Education. As Chief Executive of CAMFED, Murimirwa strives to transform the education system across Africa to ensure millions of girls in rural areas with limited access have the education they need. Murimirwa herself had grown up with limited access to education. CAMFED aims to support girls denied education, whether from poverty or other reasons.

5. Dr. Montgomery is a renowned surgeon and humanitarian who revolutionized organ transplantation. Having experience in laparoscopic kidney donations, Dr. Montgomery makes live kidney donations much safer and less harmful with small incisions. Dr. Montgomery has traveled to Ukraine during the war to help with delivering medical supplies and performing transplants. In 2021, Dr. Montgomery performed the first successful pig-to-human kidney transplant. Dr. Montgomery has shaped the future for transplantation patients.

6. Leon Marchand Leon is a world-class French competitive swimmer and is known for his dominance in medley and butterfly events. Both of Leon’s parents were competitive swimmers, which inspired him to start swimming at a young age. Marchand then moved to the United States and attended Arizona State University and swam for the college team. Marchand then went on to break an Olympic record by becoming the first swimmer to achieve a back-to-back gold medal in the 200-m butterfly and 200-m breaststrokes, both within an hour.

7. Rose is a member of the famous K-pop group Blackpink and was born in New Zealand. Rose is also the main vocalist and lead dancer of Blackpink and is known for her distinctive voice. One of Rose’s hit songs is Apt, produced by both Rose and Bruno Mars. Rose is truly loved as a solo artist and member of Blackpink by many of her fans.

8. Yoshitomo Nara is a beloved artist who’s famous for his iconic paintings and sculptures of child-like figures with large eyes, depicting loneliness, defiance, and rebellion. Yoshitomo also creates artworks with themes of isolation, innocence, and humanity. These artworks, created by Yoshitomo, are now internationally viewed and featured in many art collections worldwide. His artworks are inspired by his childhood, music, literature, and many other things. One of Yoshitomo’s notable works is the “Knife Behind Back,” which depicts a young girl scowling with one of her arms out of view; it is suggested from the title that the girl is hiding a knife behind her.

9. Yoshiki is a musical artist who channels emotions through his music, whether it be through his piano or his drums. Yoshiki is the first Japanese man to be immortalized in cement at the TLC Chinese Theatre. In recent years, Yoshiki has held Guiness World Record for the most expensive dinner show tickets. Yoshiki sold over 300 million albums and broke the record of selling out 55,000 seats at the Tokyo Dome 18 times with his band X Japan. Yoshiki has also donated countless dollars to charity.

10. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a Native American botanist, writer, and professor. One of Kimmerer’s bestselling books is “Braiding Sweetgrass.” The book “Braiding Sweetgrass” connects history, ethics, memoirs, environmental science, and many more to have readers connected. Over the decades, Kimmerer has inspired countless people to end threats to the environment. Kimmerer strives to bring others to reconnect with nature and the natural resources that people rely on. Kimmerer’s storytelling has taught others to renew their relationships with nature.