Ciara Judge (right) pictured with Germinaid co-founder Émer Hickey. Image: Luke Maxwell
Ciara Judge, a Young Scientist winner, entrepreneur, TEDxTeen speaker and all-round Irish hero, has been nominated for Junior Chamber International’s (JCI) 2016 awards.
Called the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) awards, the process formally recognises young people who excel in various fields.
With ‘young’ extending up to the age of 40 for the purpose of these awards, Judge’s extensive list of achievements earned before she has left her teens puts her front and centre for the final nominations.
There is currently a shortlist of 20 people, also including Ireland’s Adam Hariss and Niall Breslin, with voting for the final cut of 10 an online process (click here to vote).
In Judge’s brief time on this planet, she (deep breath): won the top BT Young Scientist Award in 2013, and an EU equivalent and the Google Science Fair in 2014, along with her teammates Émer Hickey and Sophie Healy-Thow.
She was named one of the world’s most influential teens by Time magazine and has featured in numerous ‘ones to watch’ articles around the world.
Germinaid Innovations was set up by Judge and Hickey and launched at Inspirefest in 2015, before the former participated in various entrepreneurs programmes across the US.
So honoured to be named by JCI as one of 20 Outstanding Young People worldwide! Vote me into the final 10 here: https://t.co/aEhIf7jRRy ❤️?
— Ciara Judge (@CiaraFudgyJudgy) August 8, 2016
She has also taken a tour of CERN in Geneva, travelled to Paris with fellow teen scientists, explored the Galapagos Islands courtesy of Google Science Fair, flown to Washington for a conference with National Geographic, and joined the first batch of Outbox executives in London.
Her work with PurchaseMate (another start-up, aimed at revealing brand information in products) and Project Zilkr (a platform offering teaching materials and mentorship for young entrepreneurs like Judge and her team) alone qualify her for this award.
Given all of this, she’s probably a shoo-in.
“The Young Scientist kind of changed my life,” she told us earlier this year. “We got exposed to so many opportunities that we never would have gotten if it hadn’t been for the Young Scientist.”
Three Outstanding Irish shortlisted in the @jcinews #TOYP awards @CiaraFudgyJudgy, @nbrez & @AdamPHarris vote here https://t.co/SE6IJ1UpYc
— JCI Ireland (@jciireland) August 8, 2016
