Meet Luciana Vega: American Girl's 2018 Girl of the Year plus a Giveaway

Meet Luciana Vega, American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year who launched on January 1st! She is the latest inspiring character to join American Girl Brand to encourage girls that they can make a difference in the world no matter what they go through. Luciana is a creative, confident 11-year-old girl and aspiring astronaut who wants to be the first person to go to Mars. She is smart and has the skills to achieve her goals. She learns that being a good leader and team player is just as important here on Earth.

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Meet Luciana Vega

“We’re proud to introduce fans to American Girl’s 2018 Girl of the Year, Luciana Vega—a champion of STEM and a natural-born leader who puts her whole heart into making her dreams a reality,” says Katy Dickson, president of American Girl. “Luciana is a role model for today’s girls—empowering them to defy stereotypes, and embrace risks that will teach them about failure and success as they chart their own course in life—whatever the goal. For us, it’s all about building girls of strong character, and it’s why we’re continuing to encourage girls to lead change and embrace #charactercounts.” (Source)

Background and Accessories

Luciana is a champion of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)! She comes dressed in a galaxy dress, two necklaces, fanny pack, and shoes. She has other STEM-inspired outfits, accessories, and products from her Space Camp experience. A Flight Suit, Space Suit, Maker Station, and Mars Habit loaded with science and research essentials are available for purchase! Girls can also download the American Girl app and unlock even more exclusive content to dive into Luciana’s world!

There are chapter books written by Erin Teagan and published by Scholastic that tells Luciana’s story. To make sure Luciana’s story is as accurate as possible, American Girl worked with Dr. Ellen Stofan, former NASA Chief Scientist; Dr. Deborah Barnhart, CEO and Executive Director of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center; Dr. Megan McArthur Behnken, NASA Astronaut; and Maureen O’Brien, Manager of Strategic Alliances at NASA.

Giveaway

I love that Luciana is a character that’s focused on STEM and makes it fun! Science, technology, engineering, and math were subjects that I found intimidating growing up. However, Luciana’s story makes those subjects more attainable. There were never any role models of women in science. I love that American Girl decided to make a doll that modern girls can look up to as a role model to reach for their goals.