Tacoma Online 8th grader Jianna Mackey is full of passion for autism awareness.

On World Autism Awareness Day, she visited DeLong Elementary to share a presentation and read, “The Superhero Brain: Explaining Autism to Empower Kids." 

As Miss Washington Junior High School America 2025, Jianna’s community service focuses on anti-bullying campaigns. However, her inspiration for focusing on autism awareness comes from closer to home: She has two siblings with autism.

She shared that one in every five students are bullied, but that number increases to three in every five students if they have a disability.

Jianna’s goal is to help students learn that autism is a diverse disability, and that autism can be a superpower. As she teaches students who are the same age as her younger brother, she hopes she is paving the way to building allies for him and eliminating any potential bullying. 

"For any disability, you don’t have to know everything about it to be accommodating and accepting,” she said.