Whitney High student honored with 2024 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award

Whitney High School student Sofia Sanchez was honored with the 2024 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award at the Global Down Syndrome Foundation's 16th annual "Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show" on Nov. 16 in Denver. Sanchez is an author, actress, model and activist from Rocklin. She originally went viral in 2016 for her video speaking about living with Down syndrome. Her career blew up after being covered by ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, People Magazine, USA Today and more. Sanchez is best known for her role as Wovey in "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes," and as Bunny Earickson in "Monster High." She was awarded the global award next to Hunger Games and Champions star Woody Harrelson. Sanchez has modeled for American Girl, Abercrombie, Old Navy, Target, Walmart and more. She helped launch Mattel's first Barbie doll with Down syndrome, where her matching outfit to the doll put her on best dressed list at the Barbie movie's premiere in 2023. She currently has a book deal with Scholastic which was inspired by her adoption story and experiences in the world as a child. Sanchez was adopted from an orphanage in Ukraine. There are currently three books in the series: "You Are Enough," "You Are Loved" and "You Are Brave." Sanchez also works with advocacy organizations like Best Buddies, NDSS and NDSC. She's received accolades such as the Generation G Award and Best Buddies Champion. She also gives speeches through TedTalk. Sanchez' mother, Jennifer, felt the award was a perfect fit for Sofia. "It's like a culmination of all her 15 years of life and love and and beauty encapsulated in this like perfect award for her," she said with joy. "We just got back from it and it was literally the most beautiful event with just an all-star ace A list of attendees. This event and organization raises many for research specifically to help prolong the lives of people with Down syndrome, and to be honored by them and also to help raise money by being there. It was just like the perfect fit." The Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show is the largest Down syndrome fundraiser in the world, with proceeds supporting Global's life-saving research and medical care through its affiliates, including the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, the Colorado University Alzheimer's and Cognition Center and the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome. Jennifer shared that Global works with partners to raise money for Down syndrome regression disorder, which Sanchez's brother was recently diagnosed with.