JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – American Idol finalist and Jacksonville's own Tyanna Jones is back in the River City. Jones visited the Sulzbacher Center Monday night to announce the winner of an essay contest.
Jones called it the "I Believe" essay contest and after sharing her personal story with homeless children at the center, the 16-year-old decided to encourage the kids to write about what will inspire them as they pursue their own dreams in life.
Recommended Videos
Jones had a grand prize for the No. 1 essay, but made all 11 participants feel like winners and give them prizes, too.
"I really didn't want them to feel like I read that one and I thought it was way better than everybody else's," said Jones. "I loved everybody's essay, the contest just, it was really for them so that they will know what they believe. And they will always have that thing to that they can look to that motivated them to keep them going."
Jones presented the winner two VIP tickets to the American Idol Live Tour show, in which she's also a performer. The show will be held at the Florida Theatre later this month.