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" On Wednesday, CG introduced you to HALO award winner Lauren Huichan who overcame her rough foster care upbringing to inspire others. The HALO Awards (airing on TeenNick, Friday, December 10th on TeenNick at 8 p.m. ET and on Nick at Nite at 9 p.m. ET) are the brainchild of Nick Cannon and TeenNick to honor those teens changing their communities Each of the four winners receives a visit from Nick, a partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a grant for their organization,a scholarship fund and they get matched with a celebrity with a similar passion for their cause. Now we bring you Jordan Somer, 17, of Papillion, Nebraska. A pageant queen since age 4, Jordan created Miss Amazing, a pageant for young women ages 5 to 35 with both physical and mental disabilities. Her HALO match is Rosario Dawson who shares her passion for female empowerment. Read on to learn more about Jordan&amp;#039;s amazing passion for her cause - it will inspire you. CG: What was moment you knew you wanted to do something to change the world? JS: I was offered the opportunity to represent Nebraska when I received the title of National American Miss Nebraska Jr. Teen. I knew I wanted to take advantage of this job to make a difference. CG: Who do you consider your mentor/role model and why? JS: I don&amp;#039;t consider any one person my main role model. Everyone around me has something positive to share. I become inspired by any person who is living their life to the fullest. CG: What is your advice to kids that want to change their community but don&amp;#039;t know where to start? JS: Find your passion first! If you want to change the world, you need to find an issue that you truly want and need to act upon. Next, you can start small or go straight to starting your own community service project. After some brainstorming, you&amp;#039;ll know exactly what difference you&amp;#039;re called to make. CG: Tell us about your charity in your words. JS: The Miss Amazing Pageant is a three in one philanthropy. First of all, the contestants have the opportunity to raise their confidence through out the year by preparing for and performing at the Miss Amazing Pageant. Furthermore, the community also benefits from the funds raised from ticket sales and the silent auction. Looking a little deeper, the volunteers and audience members are also able to go through their own journey as they learn something different from every one of the contestants. CG: How has The Miss Amazing Pageant changed your life? JS: I don&amp;#039;t even know where to begin! Miss Amazing has molded me into an entrepreneur and has taught me an immeasurable amount of skills. Most importantly, I learn more about reaching for the stars every time I meet up with the Miss Amazing girls. If anyone exemplifies this belief, the Miss Amazing girls do. CG: Moment that has been most inspiring through your work? JS: We have a little tradition at the Miss Amazing Pageant. When the girls are gathered in a group, I ask them &amp;quot;What are you?&amp;quot; and they all yell back, &amp;quot;AMAZING!&amp;quot; This response lets me know that my goal for the Miss Amazing Pageant has been accomplished.  CG: How did you find out you were a HALO award nominee? JS: When Nick Canon came to my school and presented the award to me! Receiving the Halo award means that the Miss Amazing Pageant has the ability to expand to a national level. I become so excited thinking about the possibility of reaching girls nationwide.  CG: Talk about your HALO match Rosario Dawson and why she inspires you. JS: I have been a fan of musical theater and the musical Rent for a long time, so we were a perfect match. Rosario also raises self confidence in girls by working with V-Day. She helps them realize that they don&amp;#039;t have to be silent and can inform everyone and anyone how they feel about being a woman. Just seeing how passionate she was about this project has pushed me to improve Miss Amazing even more.  CG: How do you keep going when you feel like giving up? JS: I&amp;#039;ve gone through too much work to feel like giving up. Sometimes I pity myself for my packed schedule, though. My best piece of advice is to stay GOAL-ORIENTED. As long as you have something to look forward to, something you live for, your life will be fulfilling. If your path starts swerving, be optimistic, make the most of any situation, and continue moving forward. CG: Describe the feeling you get when helping others. JS: The best feeling is to be inspired while inspiring others in return. This is the exact feeling I get when I volunteer and help others.  What about the HALO awards inspires you? Tell us in the comments section below! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/a13081/halo-award-winner-jordan-somer/>