BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama Public Television honored its 2026 Young Heroes on Tuesday at The Club in Birmingham, recognizing three students whose stories of hardship and perseverance have shaped their service, leadership and plans for the future.
This year’s honorees are Kayden Bland of Billingsley School, Grayson Gay of Cullman High School and Courtney Pride of the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham. Each received a $10,000 scholarship, a laptop computer and other prizes.
During the luncheon, Bland also received the Marissa Feigelson Community Service Award, which carries an additional $1,000 scholarship.
The APT Young Heroes program, now in its 25th year, honors 11th- and 12th-grade students who have shown academic excellence, community involvement and courage in the face of adversity.
After the ceremony, the students spoke with APTV’s Capitol Journal host Todd Stacy about both the challenges they have faced, what kept them moving forward and what comes next.
For Bland, that perseverance has been shaped by a difficult medical journey. She was diagnosed with juvenile epilepsy after suffering seizures and has since had additional seizures, hospitalizations and surgery.
Bland said being named a Young Hero was humbling from the moment she was nominated. Listening to the stories of the other honorees, she said, deepened her gratitude and reminded her of the power of choosing perseverance every day.
That outlook will follow her to college this fall. Bland said she plans to attend Coastal Alabama Community College in Bay Minette on a cross-country scholarship, then transfer to Troy University.
For younger students facing their own hardships, she offered simple advice: “The struggle would never be easy,” but it is important to “look for the moments of joy along the journey.”
Pride said his own growth has also been shaped through hardship. According to his APT biography, he has navigated financial instability at home, his mother’s health challenges and a housing disruption that worsened his asthma.
He said making art has taught him to learn from mistakes and become more comfortable with the process of falling short and improving. Next year, he hopes to attend American University in Washington, D.C., where he plans to study music production, a field he said grew naturally out of his background in visual art.
His message to younger students is to stay present, invest fully in what they do and give themselves grace to make mistakes and grow. “You can make mistakes and grow from it,” he said. “And that’s part of maturing and being able to learn and grow past what you are now.”
Gay, meanwhile, spoke about battling stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a diagnosis that brought months of chemotherapy, hospital stays and time away from school and sports.
He said he reached a point during treatment when he stopped asking “Why me?” and instead began asking, “Why not me?” That shift, he said, helped him push forward and stay present for the people counting on him.
Looking ahead, Gay said he plans to return to school and football for his senior year, organize a fundraiser for Children’s of Alabama and after high school, attend Auburn University or the University of Alabama, with plans to work in pharmaceutical sales and help children facing illnesses like his own.
His advice to younger students: “There’s always a next step.”
All three Young Heroes will appear on Capitol Journal: Week in Review on Friday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. on APTV.