STUDENT STORY
Jaylen Arnold AN ADVOCATE AGAINST BULLYING In 2017, Jaylen Arnold was the recipient of The Princess Diana Legacy Award.
“Princes William and Harry were both very interested in my cause and how to use tools like social media to spread positivity and mental health. What was interesting is that Prince Harry was actually against the use of social media until I told him about the different types of methods in how we can use outlets like Instagram and Twitter to counteract cyberbullying,” he added.
Established in honor of Diana, Princess of Wales, the award is given to young people who have developed programs and initiatives to inspire change around the world. The glass award, shaped as a square, has an image of Diana and her words that read, “Young People Have the Power to Change the World.” “Receiving the Princess Diana Legacy Award as the only American recipient was not only surreal, but it was pretty intimidating,” said Jaylen. “I was extremely honored that they even recognized a simple highschooler like me, especially out of the thousands of applicants. I felt the expectation to continue to do the absolute best that I can with this foundation by using the platform the award gave me in order to reach as many students as possible.” An anti-bullying activist and founder of Jaylens Challenge Foundation, Inc., Jaylen 12 SOUTHEASTERN
Left to right: Prince Harry, Jaylen and Prince William
was anonymously nominated for the award in 2017 while he was still in high school.To receive the honor, he traveled to England and met with Diana’s sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. “Meeting the princes was one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had, but what surprised me was how genuine they both were and the amount of time they spent with each of us,” said Jaylen.
At a young age, Jaylen was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, Asperger’s Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. When he was eight years old, Jaylen was bullied at school. Determined to educate people about respect and the effects of bullying, he founded Jaylens Challenge with a goal to spread his message nationwide. Soon enough, his story was featured on “The Ellen Show,” CNN and by Katie Couric. He also garnered the attention of actor Dash Mihok of Showtime’s “Ray Donovan,” who struggled with Tourette’s at a young age as well.
