Nicolina Pappas, age 14, of Rock Island, Illinois, has been named a winner of the 2025 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. The Barron Prize annually honors 25 outstanding young leaders who have made a significant positive impact on people, their communities, and the environment. Fifteen top winners each receive $10,000 to support their service work or higher education.
Nicolina founded Nicolina’s Turtle Co., a nonprofit committed to reducing plastic use and educating others about the importance of conservation. She has developed a far-reaching Skip the Plastic campaign, encouraging communities to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics. She has rallied her peers to join her in asking local businesses to adopt an “upon request” policy for plastic straws and cutlery, providing them only when customers ask. Partnering with a coalition of more than 100 mayors along the Mississippi River, Nicolina has presented her Skip the Plastic campaign to 14 cities across Illinois and Iowa. She has received 14 proclamations in support of it, representing 250,000 residents. She has also successfully testified before both the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives, resulting in both chambers adopting her authored resolutions and declaring April 1 as Skip the Plastic Day.
Nicolina began her work as an 8-year-old, moved by the viral video of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose. Determined to help turtles, she began using a metal straw and sewed a cloth pouch to protect it. She sewed more pouches and sold them to raise money for conservation projects — especially turtle ones. In the six years since then, Nicolina has shared her conservation message with more than 3,500 youth and adults at schools, conferences, and organizations. She has also raised more than $15,000 to fund river cleanups, establish a zoo camp scholarship, and support local conservation education initiatives. “I’ve come to realize we’re in the middle of a huge plastics crisis and need to spark change as much as possible,” says Nicolina. “I’ve learned to use my voice and that people will listen even though I’m young.”
“Nothing is more inspiring than stories about heroic people who have truly made a difference to the world,” says T. A. Barron. “And we need our heroes today more than ever. Not celebrities, but heroes – people whose character can inspire us all. That is the purpose of the Barron Prize: to shine the spotlight on these amazing young people so that their stories will inspire others.”
For more information, visit www.barronprize.org
***Courtesy of Liz Ammirato, Cathy Callegari Public Relations***
