Vote for Ilayna Franco for our Issue 91 Scholarship & Cover Winner! (Thanks for your donation!)
See InspiringTeens.com/91 for more details on prizes this teen can win with your help!
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Ilayna Franco – Texas
Nomination by Claudette Conyer
Photography by Nicole Buitron Photos
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Nomination: Ilayna Franco is inspiring as she leads by example in everything she does with passion and gratitude, all while being positive. Ilayna implements these qualities at school clubs, honor societies, church, volunteer work, and work. With over 150+ hours of documented community service and even more hours undocumented, she inspires me and others in her volunteer work. She truly has a passion for helping others, she is a good listener as she gets to know people and their lives when helping them, building personal relationships with others while volunteering, leaving a lasting impression.
What inspiring things about you does your nomination not cover?
I am an Early College High School student meaning I'm graduating this spring with both my high school degree and associates through Midland College. Through this school, I've had the amazing opportunity to be a part of MC's Phi Theta Kappa. We were involved in a lot of amazing projects such as bringing awareness to human trafficking in the Permian Basin through a seminar. I was honored to hold the position of Historian in this chapter, and I had the opportunity to put together a scrapbook showcasing our year together and all of the chapter's achievements.
What else would you like to talk about?
To add on to my contribution to my church, I have been continuously volunteering there every Sunday. I'm also a part of the Creative Team there and I'm specifically put in charge of helping with graphics, social media, and livestream cameras. I love helping out with the church especially in the technology department; it's something I'm very passionate about. Through this I have learned a lot of meaningful skills which I pass down to newer volunteers or teach to people around me. I find my volunteer opportunities as a time to grow and represent the goodness of God as much as possible.
What do you feel passionate about or could talk about forever?
I am incredibly passionate about art. Any sort of art I will find joy in, and I love seeing people be able to create things with their own minds and hands. I find creativity to be the best thing a person can have. Whether you're young or old, creativity can get you anywhere. And being able to create and make art is even better. I've been passionate about art ever since I was young and I haven't stopped caring about it ever since. I've been self-taught for the longest, but I hope going to university teaches me even more skills.
How did you find your photographer? What was your experience like? What did you love most?
We found our photographer, Nicole Buitron, through Instagram. My mom and I had been searching for quite a bit looking for the perfect photographer to capture my Senior pictures, and then we found Nicole! Our experience was very nice and the spots she chose were incredible. She made it look like my pictures were taken outside of Midland. She's incredibly talented with taming the natural light of the area and really working with it. However, what I loved the most was being able to do a lot of poses in which she directed me through. Our results were very beautiful, and I love them very much!
What is a favorite memory with or thoughts of the person who nominated you?
My favorite memory with the person who nominated me is going to her house and going to the arcade with just me, her, her husband, my brother, and little cousin. It was so much fun, and it was the first time I've been to an actual skill-based arcade. Her husband was super good at a lot of games so, he won a lot of prizes for us! Being there felt very freeing and nice, I was in my happy place.
Why do you want to be in Inspiring Teens Magazine?
It's something I've never been a part of before and I feel like it will be fun to explore something new. It felt exciting seeing that I was nominated to the magazine and I want to be able to inspire other teenage girls such as myself. Even if I don't achieve that, I still want to put myself forward and try. I want to try and be a voice for artists out there looking for others just like them!
If you win a scholarship, what will you do with the money?
If I win a scholarship through Inspiring Teens, I will put all the money towards my university fund to aid in my journey of getting my bachelor's degree. It's my dream to work in animation and any sort of art so I will be doing whatever it takes to help fund my dream goal.
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Inspiring Teens is one of our "by teens for teens" productions to celebrate teens doing amazing things with their lives – such as the teen listed above!
Each vote is $5.00 and goes towards our scholarships, magazine production, and other fun stuff that are included for the teens who participate in our fundraising and magazine endeavors. It also goes towards nonprofits and teen sponsored events as our extra profits allow.
We have given away over $185,000 in scholarships & over $100,000 to non-profits!
Thank you for helping us help them out!
* Teens must be between ages 13-19 and live in the continental USA to win a scholarship. Teens cannot win more than $1000 in a year's time.