Journalism Next / Sophomore Kiarra Louis of Southeast High School

Sophomore Kiarra Louis of Southeast High School

Kiarra Louis of Southeast High School is enrolled in the international baccalaureate.

"It is a rigorous program that pushes me to work hard, think hard, give back to my community and prepare academically for college," Louis said. "Being in this program will help me attain my goal of attending a college, along with the fact that I am a Take Stock in Children scholarship recipient ever since I was in seventh grade. I am very grateful to this program, which helps low-income children such as myself, to have the opportunity to pursue a college education. Now, going to college is no longer just a dream for me but a realistic goal."

Since she was little, she was always be in awe when it came to books, she said.

"I fell in love with the way words and images were put together to create an amazing story and soon I was trying to do the same," she said. "I would create my own characters and develop my own short stories as I've seen talented authors do in the books that I spent my whole life reading. Reading became my solace as I grew up and my go-to source when it came to learning new things -- especially words. That's really how my passion started and began focalizing on writing and reading, which is why I was thrilled at the idea of having the opportunity to submit a Journalism Next article to the Bradenton Herald. That is truly a dream come true for me."

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Journalism Next / Sophomore Kiarra Louis of Southeast High School ."