BRAVE has empowered me and reminded me that being unique is beautiful. In pageantry, I have found a community of amazing women who constantly uplift me and remind me I am capable of anything.
I had experienced bullying as many others have but I wasn’t always sure how to fight it or how to make a change. I was honored to be crowned Miss Wisconsin High School America 2021, and that really gave me a way to get out and make a difference. I started reading to and taking to classrooms of kids and reminding them that being different is nothing to be ashamed of. I’m even starting my series interview girls in and out of the Miss High School America System. Rude comments can be so damaging, but they should also be your motivation to be respectful towards everyone and fight that bullying with kindness.
I truly believe the root of bullying is insecurity. That is why it’s my goal to empower as many people as possible. When you feel confident in yourself, you only want to lift others up. The best way to fight bullying is help others find their own self worth and their own confidence. Building others up is how we truly build respect and values for everyone.

I was fortunate enough to win the title of Miss Oregon Jr High and to start promoting the B.R.A.V.E platform. Honestly without that title I would still be in that situation and wouldn't be as confident in pageantry as I am today. They always made me feel as though I needed to hide that part of my life, but through promoting the B.R.A.V.E platform I not only taught building respect and values for everyone to kids and students but I taught it to myself. With the brave platform I was able to be more open about my time in pageantry and open up about what I do rather than hiding it. I learned to respect myself and value the things I am most proud of in life, as well as learning that I need to be surrounding myself with people who make me feel included and supported rather than feeling like less than them. 

​In the last two years of promoting the B.R.A.V.E platform I have been able to combine my own platform #itskooltobekindwithkaydence which reminds students and people to always be kind no matter the situation with the B.R.A.V.E platform. When I go into classrooms or do zoom presentations I always talk about one thing, being an upstander not a bystander. This means be the person who says something when someone is being bullied, be the person who stops the aggressor and helps the victim, not the person who sits back and watches the bullying happen. Through the B.R.A.V.E platform I have had the opportunity to hold 3 B.R.A.V.E assemblies at my local elementary school, talk with principals and teachers of my locals schools about B.R.A.V.E, talk to many classrooms in my community about B.R.A.V.E and what it stands for, but one thing I got to help with that I will never forget is when a group of fourth graders came to me with the idea of starting a B.R.A.V.E club at their school. I got the opportunity to work with them and help them spread the B.R.A.V.E message around their school through their club. That moment I knew I HAD made a difference and the B.R.A.V.E message was being heard in my community. This year I was given the opportunity to go back to nationals as MIss Wyoming High, that meant another year of promoting B.R.A.V.E and having the opportunity to spread the message of B.R.A.V.E and #itskooltobekindwithkaydence even more throughout my community. ​

To be honest, I was a tough little cookie in second grade. I made it a point to never let what she said get to me, but being bullied because of who my friends were hurt me more than anything. It got to a point where my friend and I wouldn't go to recess because we were bullied consistently. I eventually moved schools because the bullying got so bad. It was heartbreaking to leave my friends behind, but it benefited me in the long run.

 In 3rd grade I joined wrestling alongside my brothers. I absolutely loved the sport! Being the only girl in the room was nerve racking, but it helped me gain confidence. I remember being told by the boys in the room “girls can’t wrestle” “you won’t ever be as good as the guys”. And  I was determined to prove them wrong and I did. Fast forward to my eighth grade year; I was bullied again by two people who I thought were my friends. Each class they would write about me in the back of their planner. I never did anything about it for a while. One day they left the planner in class and I opened it to read what they wrote about me. It was horrifying. I remember reading things like “she isn’t even that pretty” “why does she even have any friends” “let's not talk to her at all anymore” “she should move schools” “no one even likes her”. I knew what they wrote were lies, however, what affected me most was the fact that I thought they were my friends, but the whole time they were faking it. 

Today, we constantly see people on social media being bullied for their appearance and where they come from. I was also a victim of this. When I first got musically, someone had left a comment on my video that said “she belongs on the other side of the wall”. During this time, the wall between the US and Mexico was being built. My dad is hispanic and I have a cacasian mom. Therefore, I am not 100% hispanic, but having a last name like “Lopez” shows I am of hispanic descent. Getting a comment like that opened my eyes like never before. I realized that no matter where I go or what I do, I will always receive hate. I also realized being able to come out the other side of backlash is important as well; from then on I kept a modo of “Keep your head held high and never let people tear you down”. I started not to care what people thought of me and I truly became a different person through my experiences.

Being apart of Miss High School America and representing BRAVE has given me the chance to share my story and what I learned from it. I have been able to talk to several schools and small groups about my story. I have helped young kids and teenagers open their eyes to realize respecting and valuing others; no matter who they are or where they come from, is of the utmost importance. I started “Find your Fire” which is a movement about who you are, who you want to be, and what makes you unique. When presenting, I have my participants cut out their hands and write “I AM {something}”. This helps them associate a word with who they believe they are. When you believe in yourself, who you are, and what you stand for no one can change or bring you down. When the kids finish I have them shoutout what they wrote, which helps show everyone listening that we are all unique, and we must respect and value each other for it.

Something that everyone should always remember is that you never know what someone is going through. As my mother always says, “everyone has a story”. Even if we ask them about it, it shows people that they matter and they have a purpose. Kids often bully one another out of fear. They are afraid to ask what’s wrong, so instead they make fun of their peers for being different.

​As a teen who struggles with acne, I have always feared going outside without makeup and going to school on picture day. The B.R.A.V.E. platform has helped me through my insecurities and inspired me to help others through theirs. Society has created a world where kids grow up thinking they aren’t normal if they don’t fit the beauty standards social media portrays. B.R.A.V.E. helps kids with their confidence and shows everyone that they are beautiful inside and out. 

A huge problem is that adults often tell the victim that they shouldn’t let it bother them and to just forget about it. By doing this they are causing even more problems for the victim in the future, and without consequences, the bully is going to continue making fun of people. 

I believe that we need to start at the root of the problem and teach young kids how to be kind to everyone and teach them how to respect others. Rather than waiting too long until it’s too late and having the kids grow up to be bullies. By doing this, we can decrease the number of bullies and in return, the number of victims as well. 

The High School America system teaches young girls all about B.R.A.V.E. and to promote B.R.A.V.E. across America. I have always been passionate about spreading awareness on bullying and now I can share this platform with all of you. 

If everyone chose to be kind the world would be a much better place and one we could be proud of. I encourage you to do or say one kind thing to someone each day. You would be surprised how much you can change someone’s life by being kind to them. Not only are you making someone else feel good, being kind makes you feel better about yourself and causes that person to pay it forward and creates a chain of kindness. Challenge yourself to be kind everyday and soon enough it will feel natural to always help others. 

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I have been a victim of bullying a couple times and the most recent one was this past year, my freshman year of high school. I had been friends with this group of girls since elementary school and one day they decided that they didn’t want to be friends with me anymore. They started talking about me behind my back and treating me poorly. I was blind sided because I had no clue what I did and this is the worst nightmare of a freshman in high school. Still to this day I have no reason for why they did that. However, instead of letting that bring me down I rose above the bullying, had a couple friends that stood by my side and started making new friends. Now I can finally say that I feel my small group of friends will always be there for me.

​Last year, I was fortunate enough to win the title of Miss Oregon High and now I have the opportunity of going back to nationals representing New York. Being able to spread the BRAVE platform for the last two years has been amazing. I feel that it is so important to educate the children of today’s world on bullying so that we can help put a stop to it and educate people on the effects of bullying, why people bully and much more. I recently started a series on my Instagram page called “Izzy's BRAVE Talks” and that is where I do weekly videos that focus on different topics related to the BRAVE platform. Head on over to @missnewyorkhigh to see my first video and learn more about bullying! 

A dear friend of mine introduced me to the school safety tip line in my state, SafeOregon.  This tip line is for students, staff and community members to report school safety threats from the safety of their own homes, via an app on their phone, their computer or making a phone call.  SafeOregon receives tips focused on what makes students feel unsafe or if a student knows someone who feels unsafe.

​I have also spoken at a school leadership conference with middle school and high school students about the importance of the SafeOregon tip line. I shared with them ways they can promote the tip line and shared success stories of others who have used the SafeOregon tip line.

I am very excited to combine my passion for school safety and the BRAVE platform as Miss Oregon High School America.  “BRAVE in Oregon, BRAVE in America.”