This year has been filled with countless memories, special moments and uplifting stories.
A Southern California 9-year-old with cerebral palsy received a huge surprise as she waited to see Taylor Swift in concert at SoFi Stadium. A 12-year-old in Orange County graduated with five college degrees. And, a Monterey Park man became a national hero.
These are just some of the uplifting stories you'll find in the roundup below.
Cerebral palsy patient surprised with Taylor Swift-themed wheelchair before concert
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Madison Hendrickson couldn’t stop beaming when she was surprised with a Taylor Swift-themed wheelchair outside SoFi Stadium in August – just in time for the pop star’s concert.
Hendrickson, a 9-year-old Swift superfan, received the surprise of her life when a nonprofit dedicated to building custom “costumes” for children’s wheelchairs delivered her new device outside the venue. Magic Wheelchair presented the Swiftie a mobility chair with a large, purple snake coiled around it, taking inspiration from the singer’s “Reputation” album.
“It’s really cool,” Hendrickson said as she sat in her new wheelchair for the first time.
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12-year-old to graduate from Fullerton College with five degrees
Most people are adults by the time they get their college degree. But Clovis Hung was only 12 years old when he was preparing to graduate with five degrees from Fullerton College.
“I’m going to graduate with 5 degrees," Hung said. "Associates degree in History, Associates degrees in Science, Associate degrees in Social Science, Science and Mathematics, arts and human expressions, social behavior and self-development."
In 2019, Hung left his second grade classroom, bored and ready for a bigger challenge. “I wanted to be in college because I was really curious at a really young age,” Hung said.
That curiosity led him to enroll in Fullerton College in 2020.
Read the full story here.
After life of drugs and prison, OC man earns Master's degree from CSU Long Beach
Joseph Valadez was just 11 years old when he started getting arrested. He was 12 when he started doing drugs. And after spending over 30 years in and out of prison, he now has a master's degree in sociology from Cal State Long Beach.
Valadez recalls growing up in Orange County in the 1960s, in a marginalized community of Chicano veterans returning from World War II.
Growing up with five siblings, Valadez said he attended an all-white school where Chicano students made up about 1% of the student population.
“My first experience with discrimination was coming home and asking my mom what a wetback was. I was in kindergarten,” Valadez said.
From kindergarten all the way through high school, he faced a lot more discrimination, leading to him getting into fights.
Read the full story here.
Thanks to lemonade stand, Travis Barker and others help make LA 9-year-old's dream come true
When 9-year-old Grayson Roberts started a lemonade stand during the summer before he started the 4th grade, he could’ve never expected what would happen.
Social media influencer Charlie Rocket, along with the Dream Center Foundation, partnered to host Grayson’s lemonade stand, calling it “Limitless Lemonade.”
The venture was a huge hit, with people lining up to support the young entrepreneur, including pop punk drumming legend Travis Barker.
Read full story here.
‘Dreami by Livi': Teen who has battled cancer 7 times has dream of being designer come true
Fifteen-year-old Olivia has always wanted to be a clothing designer. She has battled cancer seven times, but did not let that stop her from chasing her dreams.
Founder of the “Dream Machine Foundation” Charlie Rocket, a brain tumor survivor, works with survivors like Olivia to fulfill their dreams.
Olivia's designs were stitched on hats and branded on clothing called “Dreami by Livi." Livi is her nickname.
Read full story here.
Arcadia teen who 3D-printed PPE during pandemic is now Stanford bound
Weber Lin, an Arcadia High School student, made thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
He first spoke with NBCLA in April 2020 as he launched the small project from his bedroom while attending remote classes away from the classroom. Lin ultimately made over 3,100 pieces of PPE.
Fast-forward to 2023, the 18-year-old said the PPE project propelled him to dream big and prepared him for the future: after graduating from Arcadia High as the valedictorian, the teen was set to attend Stanford University in the fall of 2023.
Read full story here.
New Lottery scratch-off millionaire says persistence was key
A California man said persistence helped him win $5 million on one of the state's lottery scratch-off tickets.
Clyde Stokely said he knew he won when he saw the number 28 on his 100x Scratchers ticket match the top prize.
“I was excited, of course. I had to look at it a bunch of times in my vehicle to make sure I wasn’t seeing 26 instead of 28,” Stokely told the California Lottery.
After that, he scratched the rest of the box and saw the large amount of $5,000.000.
Read the full story here.
‘Breaking generational curses': Street vendor's daughter becomes the first in her family to graduate from college
Lupita Baltazar became the first in her family to graduate from a university after overcoming challenges with some inspiration from her parents.
Her parents came to Los Angeles as immigrants from Mexico and always worked hard to give their daughters the best education.
“It's just been really worth it and valuable, not only as a person, but as the first person graduating in my family, it really means a lot”, says Lupita as she recalls the hardships she endured to be able to graduate from California State University, Northridge (CSUN).
Read the full story here.
Monterey Park mass shooting hero Brandon Tsay remains committed to helping community
Earlier this year, Brandon Tsay become a national hero after he disarmed a mass shooter as the gunman scouted a second dance hall after already shooting dead 11 people at a dance studio in Monterey Park in January.
Following his heroics at the second dance studio in Alhambra, Tsay received nationwide plaudits. The Monterey Park City Council honored him, as did President Joe Biden, who invited Tsay to the State of the Union address. The Los Angeles Lakers, Galaxy and LAFC all spotlighted him at their stadiums.
But despite the adoration, Tsay remains humble, saying that he does not consider himself a hero but just someone who was doing the right thing. In an exclusive interview with NBC4, Tsay spoke about the "daunting" challenge of becoming a household name, as well as his struggle to cope following the shooting.
Read full story here.
