Texas Student Takes $10,000 Grand Prize in National MyImpact Challenge Contest

William Mar from Lake Travis High School in Austin honored for program that offers free tennis lessons to children with disabilities.

ARLINGTON, VA, UNITED STATES, July 10, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Austin, Texas student William Mar wanted to bring his passion for tennis to an underserved group in his community.

Now, Mar has been awarded the $10,000 national grand prize in the Bill of Rights Institute’s MyImpact Challenge for founding Reach Through Rackets, an organization that provides accessible tennis programming for children with disabilities.

The Bill of Rights Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that teaches civics and history through market-leading curricula and educational programs for teachers and students.

Through its MyImpact Challenge civic engagement contest, the Bill of Rights Institute encourages students to develop community service projects that advance constitutional principles like liberty, equality, and justice. This year, more than 400 students across America participated in the contest.

Mar, a recent graduate of Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, created a program that offers free tennis instruction tailored to the unique needs of children with a range of disabilities.

Through Reach Through Rackets, Mar collaborates with local community centers and schools to recruit children who will benefit from his program and provides in-depth training to high school volunteers on how to instruct and mentor participants with highly adaptable techniques.

Mar also created a curriculum that builds tennis skills while instilling values like perseverance, sportsmanship, and teamwork. And the impact of his program extends beyond the tennis courts. It helps increase confidence and social interaction among participants, and it has taught him and his instructors about empathy and humility.

Mar’s goal is to correct disparities in resources and opportunities that may hinder children with disabilities from participating in sports.

“Recreation is not a luxury but an integral component of human dignity,” Mar wrote in his MyImpact Challenge essay. “All children, regardless of what disabilities they were born with, should have equal access to play, competition, and belonging.”

David Bobb, President and CEO of the Bill of Rights Institute, said the MyImpact Challenge helps students nationwide apply civic knowledge and citizenship skills in their everyday lives.

“Civic education is about teaching young people to put principles into practice,” Bobb said. “MyImpact Challenge gives students a chance to work within their communities to solve real problems and create opportunities for their fellow citizens.”

The Bill of Rights Institute awarded over $40,000 in student and teacher prizes through this year’s MyImpact Challenge. In addition to Mar, other top prize winners included:

First Prize, $7,500: Arthur Hu, Germantown Academy, Fort Washington, PA, Caleb Kurlantzick, Friends School of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, and Saniya Yamin, Broad Run High School, Ashburn, VA

Second Prize, $5,000: Aliyah Majeed-Hall, The Potomac School, McLean, VA

Third Prize, $2,500: Leo Toake, Muhammad El-Sherbiny, Elle Kim, and Justin Ahn, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, NJ

Honorable Mention, $1,500: Naaya Talwar and Mahila Cheralathan, Cerritos High School, Cerritos, CA

Honorable Mention, $1,500: Naomi Hsu, Carlmont High School, Belmont, CA

Honorable Mention, $1,500: Chloe Y. Cho, Bergen Country Academies, Hackensack, NJ

Honorable Mention, $1,500: Spencer Chaisanguanthum, Dalton School, New York, NY

Honorable Mention, $1,500: Suraj Shah and Courtney Tetteh-Martey, Arnold O. Beckman High School, Irvine, CA

Honorable Mention, $1,500: Vick Tan, EP Academy, Eden Prairie, MN

The Bill of Rights Institute is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that teaches civics and history through market-leading curricula and educational programs for teachers and students. To learn more about the Bill of Rights Institute, visit www.mybri.org. For more information on MyImpact Challenge, visit www.myimpactchallenge.org.

Kevin Hart
Bill of Rights Institute
+1 2026741237
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