15 MOST INFLUENTIAL TEENAGERS IN THE WORLD 2015

To determine TIME’s annual list, the magazine consider accolades across numerous fields, global impact through social media and overall ability to drive news. Out of the 30 teens highlighted by TIME, GNA takes a look at the 15 who are not influential, but are actually making ‘meaningful impact’ in the world today.

Here’s a quick preview of the GNA selection (ordered from youngest to oldest)

Moziah Bridges, 13

ABC/Getty Images

The Memphis resident started his own bow tie business, Mo’s Bows, at age 9. Now—thanks in part to an appearance on the investment show Shark Tank—he’s running a $200,000-a-year apparel company touting licensing deals with Cole Haan and Neiman Marcus. Bridges’ latest accomplishment? Supplying bow ties to basketball players at the 2015 NBA draft.

—Samantha Grossman

Ashima Shiraishi, 14

PCN/Corbis

Spain’s “Open Your Mind Direct” rock-climbing route is considered one of the most difficult courses in the world, thwarting all but the most skilled of adult, mostly male athletes. So when Shiraishi, at age 13, completed the challenge earlier this year—simultaneously becoming the youngest person and the first woman ever to do so—she was dubbed rock-climbing royalty, earning rave write-ups inOutside magazine, the New YorkTimes and more. (Her reaction: a celebratory Instagram whose caption started with “OMG!!!”) The New York resident now says she hopes to compete in the 2020 Olympics in her parents’ native Japan—if climbing is added as a sport.—Sarah Begley

Martin Odegaard, 16

Angel Martinez—Real Madrid/Getty Images

In May, soccer fans got a glimpse of the future when Odegaard subbed in for reigning World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo in the second half of a La Liga match. The Norwegian prodigy became the youngest player to take the pitch for Real Madrid, the world’s wealthiest soccer club. Odegaard signed with Real Madrid in January, for a reported $4 million. Often dubbed the “New Messi,” he’s insisted the hype won’t get to his head. “If you get carried away now, you won’t get far in 10 years,” Odegaard said. “I’m supposed to be at my best then, not now. That I know.”—Sean Grego

Olivia Hallisey, 17

Google

The Connecticut high school student invented a new way to test for the Ebola virus that doesn’t require refrigeration or electricity—a huge boon for the rural areas that have been most affected by the epidemic. Although it will require real-world trials before getting deployed, it won top honors at September’s Google Science Fair, a testament to its life-saving potential. 

—O.B.W.

Malala Yousafzai, 18

Muhammed Muheisen—AP

Three years after being shot by the Taliban while going to school in her native Pakistan, Yousafzai is now a fierce advocate for girls’ education. In the months following her Nobel Peace Prize award, the He Named Me Malala subject spoke at the U.N. General Assembly, appealed for the release of the schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram, and launched the #BooksNotBullets campaign to encourage politicians to redirect some military spending toward global education. On July 12—her 18th birthday—she traveled to a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon to open a school. “Spending time with Malala Yousafzai made me stronger,” wrote Mezon Almellehan, a Syrian refugee, in this year’s Time100. “She suffered, and yet she continues to fight for what she believes in—for the rights of children and for their education.”—Naina Bajekal

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