About the YouthCon Scholarship
The YouthCon Scholarship is an annual scholarship designed to empower middle and high school students to turn their ideas into meaningful action for their communities. Created to recognize students’ ability to identify problems and create innovative solutions for their community.
Created by AASuccess, a non-profit organization based in Falls Church, the YouthCon Scholarship reflects AASuccess’s commitment to encouraging young students to become leaders and contribute to their communities. The organization emphasizes the importance of giving back at a young age through leadership and service by providing students with opportunities to grow their skills.
Each year, the YouthCon Scholarship has a new theme that challenges students to think about how they can create positive change. The 2026 theme, “Passion into Action”, emphases that caring about an issue is only the first step. Substantial change comes from students taking their passions and transforming them into action. Through the scholarship competition, students are encouraged to develop thoughtful solutions to their problems so they can benefit their comminities.
2026 YouthCon Scholarship Recipients:
1st place
Victor Cho
Victor is a recent graduate of Langley Highschool, and is a rising freshman at Cornell University. His project embodies the theme “Passion into Action” by turning his concern for football injuries into a solution that can help benefit his community. Rather than simply accepting injuries as part of the game, he designed Headsmart, a concussion monitoring system that can help protect young athletes and allow parents, coaches, and guardians to monitor players’ health.
2nd place
Naomi Samuel
Naomi is a recent graduate of Battlefield High School. Her project embodies the theme “Passion into Action” by turning her empathy for Ethiopians malnutrition into a plan called “Efficient Ethiopia”. By launching an open-source platform where advanced research and agricultural education materials are translated into Amharic, providing accessible education about nutrition for Ethiopians struggling with food insecurity.
3rd place
Deeksha Manda
Deeksha is a recent graduate of Independence Highschool. Her project embodies the theme of “Passion into Action” by addressing the growing problem of women feeling unsafe while walking alone, using public transportation, or traveling at night. To address this issue, she developed an AI-powered voice safety system that can provide a real-time conversation and create the impression that someone is actively with the user to offer reassurance and deter threats.
YouthCon Scholarship Ceremony
On July 25, 2026, AASuccess held its YouthCon scholarship ceremony, honoring this year’s winners and giving each a chance to share their project with the community. The event was hosted at Viet Foods, a local restaurant within Eden Center, serving as the venue and providing food for attendees throughout the afternoon.
The ceremony opened with remarks introducing the program, followed by recognition of the third- and second-place winners, each of whom spoke briefly about their projects. The first-place winner was also given the opportunity to move forward with actually carrying out their proposed project. Following the awards, the event transitioned into a networking lunch, giving students, families, and community members a chance to connect before closing remarks wrapped up the ceremony.
Beyond the awards themselves, YouthCon was designed as a space for connection. More than a ceremony, it gave students, families, and community members the chance to sit down together, share a meal, and get to know one another, a reminder that AASuccess’s work is rooted in the relationships within the Vietnamese community as much as in the projects it celebrates.
Marvin, who led the planning of the event, reflected on what it took to bring the ceremony together:
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“Watching everything come together on the day of the ceremony made every planning meeting worth it. These students put real work into their projects, and getting to celebrate that in a room full of people who believe in them, that’s exactly why we do this.”
A special thanks to Victoria and her team as the event would not have been possible without the generosity of VietFoods, who opened their space at Eden Center and prepared food for the entire ceremony. AASuccess extends a special thank you to Victoria and the VietFoods team for their hospitality and support in making YouthCon a success.
Final Note:
Eden Center is proud to support the next generation of leaders within the Vietnamese-American community. The AAS YouthCon Scholarship program is designed to empower young leaders to make a real change in their community through service based projects. For more information about the scholarship and the application process, please visit
AASuccess.