For Brooke Dalley, a high school senior from Washington City, Utah, her membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and knowledge of her divine nature has helped her accomplish much.
Brooke recently became Rite Aid's 2012 Glam Camp model, winning a contest against 6,800 girls nationwide. She earned a trip to New York City, a makeover, a photo shoot and a two-page spread in a national teen magazine.
Winning the contest might be the first time Brooke has been a model in a magazine, but it isn't the first time she's been a model for those around her.
"I've always wanted to be a model for girls in the way that they don't have to follow everything the media says," Brooke said. "It's good to be confident in your own skin."
Brooke said she knows there are many girls who don't have the knowledge of the gospel that she does, and so they look to the media for guidance. The media tells them they need to change who they are and what they look like to be valued, but Brooke knows this isn't true.
"Worldly appearance is far less important than your eternal appearance," Brooke said. "Eternal beauty is far greater. You are perfect the way (God) has created you."
Brooke entered the Rite Aid Glam Camp contest on a whim. Her mom, Kate Dalley, said she didn't think her daughter would win such a big contest. Then they found out she was in the top five and the only girl from the western states in the running.
"I said, 'Oh my, she has a shot at this,' " Kate said. "Then she goes and wins the whole thing."
Brooke likely did well in the contest in part due to her many hours of community service. She has completed more than 500 hours of volunteer work in the past three years.
She said the gospel has been the foundation for her drive to serve.
"With the gospel I can understand the eternal perspective," Brooke said. "We're all down here for a reason. We're all told to love one another."
Brooke has previously reigned as Miss Washington City, and today keeps busy as a cheerleader at her high school and as Laurel class president. She also works part-time at a frozen yogurt shop and as a marketing adviser to help companies reach teenage audiences.
Last year, Brooke organized 677 students, faculty and staff from her high school to set the Guinness world record for the largest mass text. The event supported Salt Lake City's nonprofit "Don't Drive Stupid" campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of texting while driving.
Brooke's grandfather Harvey Hefley said the event showed that his granddaughter is a leader "in a quiet way" not because she was born that way but because people follow her. He admires the way she has managed to achieve her dreams.
"When you do the right things and want the right things, with a little luck and a lot of prayer, you can achieve what you want to," Hefley said. "She went out to prove that she could do something and she did it."
Brooke has always wanted to serve a mission, just like both her parents have done and as her older sister is currently doing in the New York New York North Mission. Since PresidentThomas S. Monson's announcement in the October 2012 general conference that lowered the minimum age for sister missionaries to 19, Brooke has announced to her family that she plans on serving a mission right when she turns 19.
Brooke plans to study broadcast journalism once she starts college, and her family members have no doubt she'll be successful at whatever she puts her mind to. Brooke said any girl can have success if she has the confidence to try.
"If they put their mind to it and push themselves and do their best to accomplish it, the best outcome for their specific situation will happen," Brooke said. "If you just put yourself out there, then great things will come."