An aspiring writer, Janey Alvarez was excited when she learned about the possibility of being featured in a popular girls magazine based on answers to a series of essay questions.
Discovery Girls, a magazine with content geared toward girls 8 and up, picks a different state for each issue, choosing girls from that state to be inside the magazine and on its cover.
Two Carson City girls, both students at Bethlehem Lutheran School, are pictured in Nevada's issue, out on newsstands now.
Unbeknownst to Janey, 11, her classmate, Daxea DeWeese, 12, was also submitting essay responses.
They were both selected, and participated in a photo shoot in Las Vegas. From the photo shoot, the cover shot was chosen.
Janey didn't know until her 7-year-old sister brought the magazine in from the mail that her face graced the cover.
"I was like, no way this is a dream," she said. "I was really excited and a little bit in shock."
She was careful to add, however, that all the girls in the magazine were equally honored.
Daxea had also been a subscriber to the magazine and sent in responses to the essay questions. She couldn't believe it when she was selected.
"I was really ecstatic," she said. "I thought I was really lucky to have such a great opportunity."
Daxea, the daughter of Sylvia and Lew DeWeese, is a lifelong Carson City resident.
"I came home from the hospital to the house I live in now," she said.
She plays basketball and participates in her school's speech and drama program that puts on three plays a year. She hopes to be a marine biologist one day.
"I excel in math and science, and I really enjoy oceanography," she said.
In her spare time, she plays with her yellow Labrador, Princess.
"She's a really good, smart and loyal dog," Daxea said. "She would never hurt a fly."
Her featured quote on her profile in the magazine is, "You are never too old to be a kid! You can always imagine, dream big, and just play."
Janey's featured quote is "I love gymnastics because I compete against myself along with a team. I have to be self-motivated."
Janey has already begun work on several books.
"I would like to publish a series of books on "mean girls" stories with moral endings," she wrote in her essay. "I think it's important for a bully to realize what they put their victims through, and how we can all work together, communicate and all be friends."
Both girls said they subscribe to the magazine because it talks about issues they can relate to, rather than the latest Hollywood fads.
"It's so easy to get caught up with all the media," Janey said. "It's nice to have a magazine based on real people."
- Contact reporter Teri Vance at tvance@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1272.