Beyond Words - Madison Franquiz

Madi Franquiz Youth Ambassador At just 25 years old, Madi Franquiz stood on the floor of the United Nations 77th General Assembly to advocate for kids who missed the same benchmark as her: the 3rd Grade Literacy Benchmark. The “3rd Grade Benchmark,” is indicative of future success a child will have in school. It was a benchmark that I missed. Living in poverty during her 2nd grade year, Madi's family struggled with access to basic necessities of life, including books. She never dreamed that someone like her could one day attend college, much less write a book, or compete for Miss Texas. Madi's father came into the country with a Spanish-English dictionary and struggled to learn English as a second language. The literacy journey happened generationally for her family. Today, Madi is living the American Dream. Madi is a graduate student who is on track to begin her PhD in International Public Policy and Economics. She is an author, having self-published eight children’s books. She even delivered an address at the World Literacy Summit in Oxford, England. In 2022, Madi was named an ambassador for the World Literacy Foundation andthe youngest founding member of the World Literacy Task Force operating under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4. She currently serves as its first Youth Ambassador. Her advocacy work has been recognized internationally. She has spoken to over 40,000 people around the world and served as a U.S. Delegate at the 2023 World Literacy Summit. Madi beat the statistics.  Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TQjCspxcrSi4yw2YugxBkBuzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1365850