TIME Kid of the Year is a North Texas Food Bank Young Advocate

Tejasvi Manoj created an app to protect older adults from online scams.

North Texas Food Bank Young Advocate Council member Tejasvi Manoj has been named TIME Kid of the Year for her work to protect older adults from online scams.

Tejasvi was inspired to act after her grandfather nearly became the victim of an email spoofing scam in which he was asked for $2,000 from someone pretending to be his son. Tejasvi’s father and uncle confirmed the request was fraudulent before any money was provided but the incident set Tejasvi on a path to ensure other seniors were equipped to spot scams.

“I want to educate these older adults so that they will be able to be more independent online, more confident online,” Tejasvi told the Dallas Morning News, which featured her on September 19.

Tejasvi, 17, developed an app called Shield Seniors that uses artificial intelligence to analyze potential scams and help individuals report cybercrimes. It’s in prototype form now as Tejasvi completes more research and development and fundraising. But it’s already gaining plenty of attention. Along with the TIME recognition, Tejasvi won an honorable mention in the 2024 Congressional App Challenge, she delivered a 2025 Tedx talk in Plano about building digital bridges to all demographics, and she teaches on cybercrime at assisted living facilities in the area.

A student at Lebanon Trail High School in Frisco, Tejasvi has also remained involved in all of her other pursuits while developing the app. She is in her third year on NTFB’s Young Advocates Council, volunteering and raising awareness about hunger in North Texas. In her second year, she served as the group’s secretary, helping with behind-the-scenes work that kept the group moving. This year, she is supporting storytelling efforts by helping with photography and social media. She is also an Eagle Scout, plays violin in the school orchestra, and tutors Bhutanese refugees online through the nonprofit Vibha.

“I started volunteering in sixth grade,” Tejasvi told TIME. “I think it’s really important; if you’re lucky yourself, you want to make sure other people feel loved and lucky too.”

Tejasvi has been coding since middle school, taking cyber security classes and completing summer programs with Girls Who Code, a nonprofit.

She told TIME that she also received support from her parents, who are in the tech field, and from her neighbor and mentor, Aarathi Rajamanickam, in developing the app.

And while she is plenty tech savy, Tejasvi (and all other Texas students) is not allowed to have her phone during the school day, which means she was among the last to find out about the TIME honor. She’s since received plenty of kudos online—including from Gov. Greg Abbott on X and from actress Priyanka Chopra Jones on Instagram—but Tejasvi isn’t on social media and has heard about those posts mostly from friends.

Tejasvi was also featured by Dallas Express, AARP, CBS News and the Frisco Enterprise.