Miranda Beach, a seventh-grade student at Homer Middle School, is attending the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia April 13-18.

JrNYLC is the junior high school program of the Congressional Youth Leadership Council. Participants are nominated by educators.

"She's not only a strong academic student, but she has natural leadership ability and uses that in school by being willing to work with any kind of student, any personality type, and is very positive and very supportive of other students," said Homer Middle School Quest instructor Suzanne Haines, who nominated Beach. "She stands out in that she's not as concerned about popularity as she is about the good of everybody. "

In addition to being an A student, Miranda has made the interscholastic traveling teams in soccer, basketball and volleyball. She is in her third year serving on Youth Court and plays saxophone in the band. This year, she began writing for the school's student magazine, "The Salty Kat."