The master fencer and Olympian: Nzingha Prescod, 21

Columbia University, political science major

Brooklyn-born Prescod started fencing at age nine, when her single mother signed her up for lessons after reading about a local program in the newspaper. "She heard they were sending a couple of athletes to the Olympics and thought, Why not?" says Prescod, who went on to be so good she competed in the 2012 London Games herself at just 19. Then, last May, as the number-one ranked women's foil fencer in the U.S., she became the first American ever to win a Grand Prix women's fencing title—a historic achievement. Today she captains the Columbia women's squad and gives weekend lessons to inner- city kids. "Fencing taught me to embrace fear," she says. "It's a lot of in-the-moment problem solving and looking for the most direct, practical way. That's how I try to approach any challenge in my life now." A policy buff, she hopes to one day work as a political strategist.

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