As part of Barbie‘s 60th-birthday celebration this year, Mattel and Walmart honored role models across the U.S. during the “Be Anything” tour. Following a kick-off event in March, the tour made its way across the U.S., concluding in Los Angeles this past weekend.
Olympic figure skating champion Tara Lipinski joined Alysa Liu, this year’s national figure skating champion, at the final stop to present a $20,000 check to grand prize winner Amelia Flood. The 6-year-old from Hardinsburg, Kentucky, was selected at random from more than 1,900 entries received during the tour, which was designed to encourage kids to dream to “be anything.”
In her submission, Flood said that she lives on small farm with cows and cats, and that she wants to be a pop star when she grows up. As kids do, the youngster changed her mind during the award ceremony, stating that she’d like to be a zookeeper instead. Runners-up included 5-year-old Samantha Scheuren from Pine Hill, New Jersey, and 11-year-old Akaya Dixon from Slidell, Louisiana, each of whom received $10,000.
During the tour, role models from several areas of expertise appeared at stops along the way, including country singer Kelsea Ballerini, WNBA star Camille Little, and Rehab Addict host Nicole Curtis.
