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Senior Isabella Luna Mejia is Gulliver Prep’s Silver Knight nominee in English and Literature.
She was nominated for English because she likes writing poetry and songs.
“I hope to possibly write some songs in Georgetown,” she says. “I have written some songs. That’s my next step with my music. I was in a band (Luna y la Estrellas) but we didn’t perform any original songs. I hope to record in Georgetown.”
She likes to write music with meaning.
Luna Mejia has been published three times in Gulliver literary magazines. Twice in Reflections, and once in the Strides Literary Magazine for Women’s History month issues.
Luna Mejia is one of those rare high school students who owns her own business.
“I sell scrunchies and donate the profits to a charity,” she says.
The brand is LunaStella. The charity is Misioneros del Camino, an orphanage in Guatemala.
She started her business in eighth grade at a time when scrunchies were a huge fad. She sells them at $6 for the regular fabric and $8 for the silk Scrunchies.
When she set up the company for an eighth grade International Baccalaureate project, she planned to donate the funds to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. But then a family friend invited her to attend a service trip to the orphanage in Guatemala. She fell in love with the kids and switched the donations to the orphanage.
“I wanted to do something to help,” she says. “I’ve donated almost $10,000 and it has been extremely helpful for them.”
The donated funds have gone toward food, clothing, salaries and education.
Since then, she’s gone back twice on four-day visits each time.
“A lot of the time was spent bonding with the kids since they don’t have visitors,” she says.
For one of the mission trips, she and her friends organized a stuffed animal drive. The children loved receiving the stuffies.
“I think the stuffed animals helped them feel a sense of home,” she says. “A lot were abused by families.”
She hopes eventually the profits will go to a program that teaches the children English.
She sells the scrunchies via social media and Farmers Markets in both Pinecrest and Key Biscayne. She sold some at the Pinecrest Children’s Business Fair and the Key Biscayne Business Fair.
Next year she’ll be at Georgetown in Washington D.C. to study businesses.
“I hope to learn from there to grow my business,” she says. “Hopefully expanding it to make the most donations. I think it’s a great school to help me with this project. It is a Jesuit school. A great way to learn how to combine business with giving back.”
Luna Mejia hopes her sister will take over the orphanage visits while she figures out how to continue to sell at business fairs in D.C.
At Gulliver she is on the board of the Health Information (HIP). She participates in Achieve Miami, going to read with kids at Coconut Palms Academy in Homestead.
She volunteered at Shake a Leg Miami for two summers.
“You work with kids with disabilities,” she says. “You lead them in different activities.
Kayaking, sailing, paddleboarding, drawing. It was fun. You also learn a lot about handling kids.”
She is a member of the National Honor Society, the National English Honor Society and Rho Kappa.
For her International Baccalaureate community service project, she gathered her friends and they wrote personalized letters to the children at the orphanage and delivered them in January.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
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