ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque girl has taken her love of the South Valley to the international stage and was recognized for her efforts by none other than the President of the United States and First Lady themselves. Cheyenne Anderson is a 17-year-old KRQE News 13 has told you about before. She is the creator […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque girl has taken her love of the South Valley to the international stage and was recognized for her efforts by none other than the President of the United States and First Lady themselves.
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Cheyenne Anderson is a 17-year-old KRQE News 13 has told you about before. She is the creator of the book South Valley, showcasing the beauty and the poetry of the area. And her story has garnered the attention of none other than the First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden. “I wasn’t really expecting it but this will probably be something that I will forever be grateful for this experience. But yeah, there were 700 girls and only ten were chosen,” said Anderson.
The Girls Leading Change honor is a way to celebrate young women leaders selected by the White House Gender Policy Council and the First Lady. She is the first girl recognized for this distinction from New Mexico. And she was able to meet someone she wasn’t expecting, President Joe Biden. “I think it’s a very surreal moment to meet with people who you see on TV all the time, and people who you see in such high positions,” said Anderson.
Anderson said she was inspired to create this book to show the South Valley in a different light and hopes her story inspires kids around her that they can also make a change. “Being able to come out of New Mexico and into the White House and tell them about the work that we are doing and about the stories that we are telling is honestly, it’s an incredible feeling,” said Anderson.
Her parents are proud of the person she is becoming. “She is an amazing representative of New Mexico and of the South Valley and of Albuquerque. It brought tears to your heart, that sort of pride,” said Cheyenne’s mother Anne Bolger-Witherspoon
“I think we’re still in shock,” said Cheyenne’s father Lonnie Anderson.
“Be the change you want to see,” said Cheyenne.
Anderson said her next journey is to take her work on a moving museum to reservation schools and youth detention centers.