Introduction to Tejasvi Manoj
Until now, Tejasvi Manoj’s “fun fact” was from the fourth grade, when she was pictured in The Dallas Morning News reading her winning essay in a writing contest, her first brush with fame. Now, the Collin County teenager is on the cover of Time magazine — which named her Kid of the Year for her work to protect seniors from online scams.
Inspired by an incident in her own family, Tejasvi developed Shield Seniors, a platform to educate older adults by using artificial intelligence to analyze potential scams and help report cybercrimes.
“I want to educate these older adults so that they will be able to be more independent online, more confident online,” Tejasvi said. “I want to make … them as comfortable as possible.”
The application, still in its prototype form, helps older adults analyze, identify and report scams. It uses AI to assess if a message is fraudulent, and the website is designed to educate adults age 60 and up on cybersecurity.
Lebanon Trail High School senior Tejasvi Manoj, 17, works on her Common App for college applications at a desk in her bedroom on Sept. 17, 2025, in Plano.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
A Typical Teenager
Despite her unique, self-starting drive at an age barely eligible for a driver’s license, Tejasvi is in many ways just like any other teenager.
The 17-year-old loves Studio Ghibli movies, K-pop and getting lost in a book. A senior at a Frisco high school, she’s swamped with college applications, advanced classes and extracurriculars — from scouting to violin to volunteering. But recently, her already busy days have been a lot more full after Time magazine named her the 2025 Kid of the Year.
Tejasvi Manoj, 17, sits for a portrait at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort on Sept. 12, 2025, in Frisco. Tejasvi was named Time magazine’s Kid of the Year for her project to protect seniors from cybercrimes called Shield Seniors.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
A Mission for Cybersecurity for All
Tejasvi got the idea for her app at age 15 when her grandfather was nearly duped by a scammer posing as another family member in an email urgently asking for money. Her grandfather was convinced, ready to send thousands of dollars to a stranger.
Tejasvi did her homework: The Federal Trade Commission reported that older adults lose far more money in scams than any other age group. Most people never contact the authorities, according to the Pew Research Center.
Losses to internet crime exceeded $16 billion last year, rising by a third since 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
