Colorado Springs teen earns Girl Scout Gold Award after writing comic book

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A Colorado Springs teen joins an elite few who've earned a Girl Scouts Gold Award.

Jessica Johnson, 18, joined just the 6% of award recipients by writing and illustrating a comic book. The book, "Rise of Sorceress," focuses on a Black superhero who uses her superpowers to bring equality and inclusivity to her community after noticing racial and social injustice in her high school.

Johnson said the idea came from her own love of comic books. Growing up, she said she spent time reading and collecting them.

She said due to a lack of diversity and female representation in the stories she read, Johnson said she felt compelled to fill the gap.

"Representation is really big," said Johnson. "Just having a role model is important. Even if it’s not in physical form, just being able to see someone on a book or on a screen doing what you want to do is very inspiring."

Johnson is currently a senior at Vista Ridge High School. After graduation, she plans on going on to study physics in college. Still, she told KRDO she plans on continue reading comic books and, in her own way, fight for the same things her fictional superhero did.