Dariana Garcia-Bernabe, 17, is a junior at Franklin Learning Center. She lives in Philadelphia with her mother, brother, and father.

Garcia writes for her school newspaper, The Flash, and is in the poetry club.

A playwriting class Garcia took in eighth grade got her into writing. “It was really cool that we could create stories,” she said. “I feel like the class helped me grow as a writer and it helped increase my confidence.”

Her monologue, “Four Eyes” was chosen to be included in the 2015 Middle School Monologue Festival.

Garcia likes to read and her favorite book series is the Harry Potter series and the Chaos Walking trilogy. Her favorite director is Guillermo del Toro and her favorite movie directed by him is, Crimson Peak.

She is currently learning how to play bass. What inspired her to want to learn the instrument is the bands that she listens to. “I really like the band Haim and the bass lines on their songs are so good that I fell in love with the instrument,” she said. “I decided that I should give it a try.”

After high school, she hopes to get into Temple University or Drexel University where she wants to study journalism. As for future goals, she hopes to become a successful journalist, travel the world, learn how to play guitar, and go to many concerts.

A quote she lives by is, “Worrying means you suffer twice” from the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. “That quote helps me calm down when I feel uncertain and nervous about things,” she said. “It reminds me that I have to take things one step at a time.”