20 Teens Who Will Change the World

Michelle Trachtenberg, 17
Actress; Los Angeles

BECOMING A STAR: "I was three years old when I went on my first audition, for a Wisk detergent commercial. I got it, and I booked almost every commercial I tried out for afterward. Later I went on to [star] in the movie Harriet the Spy, and now I'm [Buffy's little sister, Dawn] on Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
SWEET AND SOBER: "After Harriet, I got phone calls from charities [that wanted me to join them]. I realized that if I was a role model, I wanted to show kids that you can be successful without getting high. It escalated from there: I [joined] groups like Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) and Recording Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving (RADD) and, in 1998, was chosen as a youth adviser [to help launch] the National Youth Anti-Drug Media campaign. It was wonderful to talk directly to kids and tell them, 'I got where I am without drugs or alcohol, and you can do the same.'"
HOW SHE'LL CHANGE THE WORLD: "I'd like to start my own charity, which would help underprivileged kids. There's hundreds of new charities coming out every day, but unless they have a lot of publicity, they're not going to get the attention that they deserve…. It all starts with one person."