As a little girl Isabella Logins would have never dreamed of being Miss Florida.

She was just hoping that the pain would stop.

Viciously bullied as a child, Logins grew up fighting back self-doubt.

Over time, she learned to love herself and not pay attention to the opinions of others.

But it took time.

And it was painful.

“When I was little I was picked on all the time,” Logins said in an interview with RISE NEWS. “Kids were mean to me and would make fun of me for being ugly, annoying, or just because they felt like it.”

She said that the bullying had a traumatic impact on her.

“It made me feel really sad and it made me feel really bad about myself,” Logins said. “It took me a long time to get myself to not think about what they would tell me.”

A Miami native, Logins graduated from Alonzo and Tracy Morning High School in North Miami.

She’s now a 22-year-old senior at FIU and the reigning Miss Hollywood USA.

Quite a long way from that insecure girl who bullies loved to pick on.

Logins will be competing in the Miss Florida 2018 pageant December 14-17 in Tampa.

She took an interest in pageantry about two years ago for the career networking aspect, but found that competing has helped her grow in other ways. 

Reflecting on her experiences through elementary and middle school, she did not expect to ever be involved in pageantry

“I thought [pageants] were only for extremely beautiful women and when I was younger I didn’t feel extremely beautiful,” Logins said. “But I’ve had to grow into a more confident person.”

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Her pageantry career has been successful.

Logins’ first pageant was for the crown of Miss Florida Keys 2017, where she ended up winning the title.

That victory made her eligible to compete in the Miss Florida 2017 pageant, where she finished in the top 16. 

In the Miss Florida pageant this year, Logins will be representing the Global Children’s Rescue as her cause

A non-profit, Global Children’s Rescue works to educate the public on human trafficking, as well as helping in actively rescuing missing children and human trafficking victims.

Isabella Logins at a Global Children’s rescue event. Photo Credit: Victoria Salas/ RISE NEWS.

The group is made up of a team of former federal, state, local, and military investigators.

“[Logins] took it upon herself to find us,” John Rode, founder of the Global Children’s Rescue said in an interview with RISE NEWS. 

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, out of 18,500 endangered runaways reported in 2016, one out of every six of those children were suspected of being entered into sex trafficking.

Logins believes that child sex trafficking is an important issue because it is occurring in most communities, yet much of the public is totally unaware.

Logins uses her social media platforms to share statistics and information about how common of an issue human trafficking is.

In a recent post on her Instagram, Logins encouraged people to send their family members a picture of themselves occasionally.

This is to give police a more accurate photo to use in case a person goes missing.

“It’s something that’s always interested me,” Logins said. “Sometimes girls go missing and we don’t have a real photo [of them].”

On average, a missing child’s case costs $25,000 and solving a human trafficking case can cost up to $100,000 according to Global Children’s Rescue.

Logins uses her platforms to promote Global Children’s Rescue fundraisers and events.

Her aim is to also reach younger people who might not be paying attention to how common human trafficking is and hopefully prevent future tragedies. 

A broadcast journalism major at FIU, Logins one day wants to be a successful anchor for a news channel.

“I would love to win [Miss Florida 2018] not just for personal growth, but for the cause,” Logins said.

RISE NEWS is South Florida’s digital news magazine. Follow us on Facebook to make sure you never miss a story!

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