Born and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, Miss Arizona Teen USA 17-year-old Karlina Riggs is preparing to compete for the crown and represent her home state in the 2017 Miss Teen USA competition on July 29th here in Phoenix, Arizona.

In addition to competing in pageants, Riggs has always been dedicated to her schoolwork and extracurricular activities. She is currently an AP and Honors student at Chaparral High School and plays an active role in the Best Buddies program, National Honor Society and serves as an Ambassador for the TYRO mentoring program.

She was also chosen to represent the nearly 27,000 students in her school district as a student advisor to the Scottsdale Unified School Board. In addition, Riggs attend the Pre-College Program at Harvard University this summer where she studied the evolution of medicine while also heightening her passion for helping others and promoting change.

Over the past several years, Riggs has combined her love of sports and children by volunteering at The Miracle League of Arizona, where she helps children with disabilities play baseball. These incredible kids are her motivation, and helping them has inspired her to pursue a career in pediatric medicine.

The winner of Miss Teen USA will spend her reign developing and fulfilling personal and professional goals, as well as traveling locally and nationally to expand awareness of important causes and initiatives. The Miss Teen USA title includes a scholarship for further education, a cash prize and access to The Miss Universe Organization’s global network of resources, which helps foster the goals of young women by building self-confidence needed for success.

The preliminary competition will be held in Phoenix at Symphony Hall on Friday, July 28th at 7 p.m. and the Finals Competition on Saturday, July 29th at 6 p.m.

Follow Karlina on Instagram @karly_riggs and @missazteenusa.