Coeur d'Alene High junior wins Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes

Coeur d'Alene High School junior Adeline Smith, 17, has been named a winner of the 2024 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes.

The Barron Prize annually honors 25 outstanding young leaders who have made significant positive impacts on people, their communities and the environment. Fifteen top winners each receive $10,000 to support their service work or higher education.

Adeline co-founded Growing the STEM, a nonprofit that creates math and science programs for students in 14 underserved Idaho schools. In the 2023-2024 school year, her team recruited more than 100 teen volunteers to coach over 900 elementary and middle school students in 45 after-school programs. Clubs include Mathletes, STEAM Club, Engineering Club, STEM Book Club, Math is Cool and Chess Club.

“I’ve realized that even a small effort and passion can create an amazing snowball effect,” Adeline said in a Tuesday news release from Gloria Barron Prize for Heroes. “And I've learned my life's purpose is in the pursuit of improving things for others.”

Her organization has built strong community partnerships and receives program funding from the Idaho Community Foundation, United Way and the Innovia Foundation, among others. Each year, her team also organizes a large-scale trivia night fundraiser. Proceeds support her nonprofit’s annual budget of more than $100,000, most of which is used to compensate school district teachers who oversee the teen coaches.

Adeline’s inspiration began in 2016 when she helped a fellow fourth grader with math and realized the power of student-to-student support. The following year, she and her older sister Lilian started a math mentor program and created an afterschool math team of students from a Title 1 school to help them prepare for a regional math competition. 

Eight years later, Growing the STEM continues to support underrepresented groups, including girls and low-income students, in pursuing STEM education and activities.