Influential Teens: Yara Shahidi

Yara Shahidi has been someone that I looked up to for along time. I was introduced to her through one of her shows on ABC a couple of years ago. I really like her because she issuing her platform to promote the engagement of teens and she is only my age. I hope you all enjoy learning more about her as much as I did!



About Yara Shahidi:

• Yara was born on February 10, 2000 in Minneapolis
• She is a first generation American 
• Her breakout acting role came when she was cast as Zoey Johnson in Blackish 
• She is now acting in both Blackish and its college spin off show staring her character called Grownish.
• She started as a freshman at Harvard University in 2018

• Her mom is a commercial actress
• Her father was Prince's official photographer 
• One of her first cousins is an astronaut 
• Her second cousin is a famous rapper named Nas

Activist Achievements:

   Yara Shahidi partnered with Michelle Obama to attend an event by Glamour. Glamour worked with the White Houses Let Girls Learn Initiative for this event. Yara is a very vocal advocate for more women empowerment especially in terms of education. She became so close to Michell Obama that Obama actually wrote her college recommendation letter!                

Along with other young celebrities Yara Shahidi has been pushing for teenagers and young adults to get more involved in the field of politics. She is the founder of an organization called Eighteen x 18. 

• Eighteen x 18 is a "creative platform to engage our generation to speak our truth, get active, and vote"
• It is designed to empower young people to find out what they are passionate about and how they can change it
• #WeVoteNextSummit made by Eighteen x 18 brought together many accomplished young leaders and activists in order to show how important voting is for first time voters 
• It planned to encourage first time voters to vote in the primaries and midterm elections which tend to get lower numbers

Also, if you have the time I highly recommend watching her videos on Eighteen X 18 and #WeVoteNextSummit!

                                          

Yara is an amazing example of how young adults can use their fame and followers to reach out to many people and spread positive messages. Shahidi is doing a lot to inspire the younger generation into taking in to account how important it is to get involved in politics because it will affect them.

I hope that reading you are all able to watch the videos and learn even more about the amazing work that she is doing! I think there needs to be more famous girls like her engaging the youth because it can inspire many people. In the future I hope to write more about young women like her making a difference in this world.