A math phenom, a celebrated artist, a varsity swimmer and water polo player, a Latin and Greek scholar, a Harvard Book Prize winner—what an amazing group of teens, right? Wrong. That list describes just one of our 2024 Teens to Watch. Andrew Tu, the teen in question (the question being: How on earth?), might feel special for the mention here, but honestly, all of these ten superstars are a multihyphenates of mind-boggling proportions. And not only do they do it all, they do it all with heart.
They build computers from scratch, start robotics clubs for younger kids and help the elderly with tech tasks. They go to Juilliard on weekends, break Guinness Book records and raise tens of thousands of dollars for children in need. They conduct sophisticated scientific research with college professors, publish in scholarly journals and break down barriers in sports.
In short, they give us hope. Read on to be reassured that the future of our community and the planet is in good hands.
KATIE BYXBEE
Greenwich Country Day School
Katie Byxbee is a published writer, a Junior Olympian water polo player, co-captain of her swim team, co-president of Greenwich Country Day’s ROY- G BIV club (supporting LGBTQ youth) and devoted volunteer at Second Congregational Church. She also has been hard of hearing since birth, but clearly that has not slowed her down.
The novelty of having bright blue hearing aids sticking out of her ears in kindergarten wore off quickly. Katie spent years after that trying to hide her smaller, more subtle hearing aids so people wouldn’t ask questions. It was therefore a bold leap to begin sharing her journey in a public way, by writing for Hearing Life Magazine. Her first article, “My Life Beyond My Hearing Aids,” was published in 2021.
“I became interested in writing in middle school when I heard of a little girl at my school who had gotten new hearing aids,” explains Katie. “She hated them, and it reminded me of when I was her age and felt the same way. As I get older, I realize how important my hearing aids are in my life, but as a kid it’s harder to understand. I realized writing can allow me to connect with people with hearing loss who feel they are alone.”
Throughout high school, Katie has been a contributing columnist for Hearing Life Magazine, and she has also written for the Greenwich Sentinel. Last spring she was invited to attend the Hearing Life Association of Eastern CT meeting at University of Connecticut.
Water polo is a fast-moving team sport and one in which hearing aids are not an option, so it’s especially impressive that Katie excels in the sport—to the point that she has been playing on her school’s boys varsity team since freshman year. “It is never a dull moment traveling to tournaments and playing in a pool with people twice the size of you, but I have learned so much and become a better player because of it,” she says. Katie has played at the Junior Olympics with Greenwich Aquatics Water Polo.
A caring person and good friend, Katie spends countless hours helping at church, Vacation Bible School and in the Second Congregational Church nursery.
Q&A
WHAT IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE YOU HAVE OVERCOME?
Learning to look at the good as opposed to the bad. As I get older and more mature, I can see all the things hearing loss has granted me by allowing me to be more patient and observant in my everyday life. However, when I was younger, my hearing loss would follow me and set me aside from others. I am grateful now I can share my stories through writing and help young kids with hearing loss know they are not alone.
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR FRESHMAN SELF?
As a freshman, I was so excited to be an upperclassman and have all the privileges of being older. Now that I’m a senior, all I can think about is how those days of desperately wanting to be a senior felt like yesterday. I would tell my younger self to take a breath and focus on the now, because before you know it, four years have passed and you’ll be graduating and starting a new chapter.
which TEACHER HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU?
There have been so many teachers in my life who have made such a big impact. The most recent one would have to be my physics teacher, Mr. Carr. He also wears hearing aids, and we are able to bond over our hearing loss and memories despite the different lives we are living. Mr. Carr has also helped my love for engineering grow, as I hope to major in it in college.
WORDS TO LIVE BY?
Tomorrow is going to come no matter what you do today, so make the most of what you can do today so you can have a better tomorrow and grow to be who you want to be.