Seventeen-year-old Tejasvi Manoj, an Indian American teenager from Texas, has been named TIME’s Kid of the Year 2025. Born in California and raised in Dallas since the age of eight, she grew up in a household where both parents worked as software engineers.
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According to a report by The Global Indian, it was only in middle school that Tejasvi discovered her own passion for coding after joining Girls Who Code. “That’s when I realised how amazing coding can be and how much I enjoy it. Moreover, I understood the impact I can make by learning to code, and I instantly knew I wanted to pursue it in the future,” she recalled.
An alarming family experience sparks innovation
As per a report by TIME, her journey towards creating impact began in February 2024 when her grandfather nearly fell victim to an online scam. Posing as a relative, fraudsters demanded money, but the scheme was quickly exposed after the family intervened. The incident left Tejasvi deeply unsettled. “Tejasvi was surprised that there was such a lack of awareness among her grandparents,” her mother, Aishwarya, said. It was like, Why did you not know? That’s when she went on with her research and found out that it was not an isolated case with her grandparents, but a much larger problem.”
Building Shield Seniors
Determined to take action, Tejasvi developed Shield Seniors, a website designed to help older adults recognise and avoid online fraud. The platform educates users about cybersecurity basics, provides a chatbot for simple answers, analyses suspicious messages with AI, and directs victims to reporting agencies. “because our goal for Shield Seniors is to make sure older adults are independent and know what to look for. We want to make sure they’re able to navigate the online world confidently, with independence, and with dignity.,” Tejasvi explained.
{{/usCountry}}Determined to take action, Tejasvi developed Shield Seniors, a website designed to help older adults recognise and avoid online fraud. The platform educates users about cybersecurity basics, provides a chatbot for simple answers, analyses suspicious messages with AI, and directs victims to reporting agencies. “because our goal for Shield Seniors is to make sure older adults are independent and know what to look for. We want to make sure they’re able to navigate the online world confidently, with independence, and with dignity.,” Tejasvi explained.
{{/usCountry}}Her work has already been recognised with an honourable mention in the Congressional App Challenge and a TEDx talk in Plano, Texas. Local senior citizens have attended her seminars, where she teaches practical ways to stay safe online. “I remember going to my first seminar and I was super nervous, but there were so many people who were really interested—taking notes on their notepads, which was really nice. At the end some of them came up to me with questions, and I was able to help them.” she said.
Recognition and the road ahead
As per TIME, online scams against older adults caused nearly five billion dollars in losses in 2024 alone, highlighting the urgency of solutions like Shield Seniors. For Tejasvi, the project is just the beginning. Alongside volunteering, tutoring refugees, and playing violin in her school orchestra, she plans to study computer science at university with a focus on artificial intelligence or cybersecurity.
“Just make sure to check up on your loved ones,” she advises families. “Make sure that they’re staying safe online.”