Shining Scars

Krystian Leonard is a sophomore in high school and entered her first pageant at age 14. She wrote Shining Scars as a way to reach out to children healing with visible scars. Krystian developed and created her own non-profit organization Shining S.C.A.R.S. at age 15 as a result of the scars she endured. She spends countless hours volunteering and promoting her organization as well as competing in pageantry. Growing up she experienced first-hand the trials and self-esteem issues associated with visible scars. Healing with visible scars left Krystian feeling damaged and ashamed. She found the strength she needed to overcome her self-image and entered her first beauty pageant at the age of 14. One year later she summoned the courage to compete in the Miss America Scholarship Organization. As part of her application, Krystian was to choose a platform for which she would become an advocate. She wanted to choose a platform she could be passionate about, and thus Shining S.C.A.R.S. was born.