Govil Gupta Age:16, Irvine, CA

If Govil Gupta has his way billionaire businessman and television star Donald Trump will soon have some competition.

“As I was growing up,” Govil says, “I often watched the show ‘The Apprentice.’ This show sparked the interest within me for entrepreneurship and business. I was able to see that in the real world one has to be able to work as a team player, be practical, show leadership, and to be innovative with existing and limited resources.”

But the 16-year-old doesn’t have to track down Mr. Trump for business guidance. He can look to his uncle Akash Garg, the co-founder of hi5.com, a popular social networking web site. “He has influenced and inspired me tremendously, because he has demonstrated that being famous or being rich are NOT prerequisites for doing something great,” says Govil. “The only ingredients you need to be successful are innovative ideas, perseverance, and being passionate about it.”

Govil has already shown he can persevere. His family moved from India to the United States when he was beginning kindergarten, and while he learned English as a second language and adapted to his new culture, he attended six different elementary schools before the family settled down.

“Although I did not enjoy moving back then, today I believe that it has helped me learn many traits. I have become very resilient and flexible handling the most difficult situations. If I am faced with a problem or a roadblock, instead of avoiding it, I use my resources and my experiences to learn, solve, progress and move forward.”

Govil has been on the honor roll all through middle school and high school, and in his freshman year of high school has a perfect 4.0 GPA. He has won many awards, including the Presidential Academic Award. He is an active member of his school’s speech and debate team. But his favorite activity is writing. “I love to write,” Govil says, “because it lets me express myself in a way that no other form of communication can do. If you’re feeling up, if you’re feeling down, a story or poem can change your mood. It’s just that it’s so free form and that’s what I love about it.”

Govil combined his entrepreneurial spirit and his love for writing when he created his not-for-profit organization Wonder Writers (www.wonderwriters.com). “I developed the web site and the concept to encourage young writers and to give them a place to publish their work. Along with promoting writing, the organization’s goal is to donate to charity. We make this possible by selling our semi-annual publications.

“I think even the smallest effort makes a difference. A lot of people think they have to do something big to make a big impact, but I think every little step counts and that’s the advice I would give somebody who wants to start in the community. “Start off small, just go out to a local shelter and volunteer and help clean up, maybe on your street. Volunteer at your school, tutor kids, just a very small step. Eventually, after you’ve mastered that you can move on to bigger things that will help even more people.”