Local Catholic featured in national girls' magazine

Friday, Feb. 19, 2016

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah Catholic Hispanic girl is featured in the February-March issue of Discovery Girls Magazine, a national publication for pre-teen girls that has won a 2011 NAPPA Gold Award and a 2011 Mom’s Choice Gold Award, among other recognition.

Isabella Valles, a student at J.E. Cosgriff Memorial Catholic School, was 9 when she first started the process to be featured in the magazine. Back in 2014, she and her mother, Clare,  decided to apply to participate in a summit sponsored by the magazine; those girls chosen for the summit would model for an upcoming issue, write articles and attend workshops. 

As part of the application process, Isabella had to write an essay answering 100 questions.

After Isabella was accepted to participate, she and her mother traveled to California. At the summit, Isabella joined other girls from all over the United States and Canada. 

“So she was chosen to represent Utah. … How often does a Hispanic Catholic have the opportunity to represent Utah?” asked Clare with a lot of emotion, adding that the experience has proven  that family values are more important than some people think; her family attends church together and prays together.

“It shows that family values are and can drive a child, and that’s what has come out of all of this,” said Clare. 

“My family means the world to me,” added Isabella, who is portrayed in the magazine serving at Mass, attending classes and playing sports.

“Cosgriff has done a good job having kids getting involved with Mass, and with the process of how the Church functions, and I think that all of that has contributed to Isabella having enough confidence” to be chosen to participate in the summit, said Clare.

She added that Isabella embraces being Catholic with open arms: “I think that assisting at a Catholic school in Utah has given her incredible amount of confidence.”

In the article Isabella wrote for the magazine, she talks about how she has learned to live with asthma. 

“I have been in the hospital multiple times. Sometimes when I play sports or just laughing, my asthma starts,” she said. “It’s a pain, but it could be worse. I’ve learned to listen to my body and be responsible with medications and my symptoms and have a good attitude. I would tell other girls with asthma that you can still accommodate almost anything; it’s just going to be a little bit harder, but that is a good thing because if they get used to overcoming hard things now they will be stronger later on.”