Portland Girl Up For Teen Choice Award

Fox News - Local News

PORTLAND, Ore. -- When you think of the Teen Choice Awards you probably think of celebrities, but a local teenager is among this year's nominees.

Dallas Jessup, 16, was nominated for the community service category.

The teen has a black belt in tae kwon do and is certified to teach Filipino street fighting, and she was going to make a home video to show her classmates some ways to get away from bad situations.

But the project turned into a $600,000 film called "Just Yell Fire."

A couple of Hollywood stars even took part.

Jessup said she hopes her nomination will inspire other teenagers.

"Other kids will know that other people are making a difference, and hopefully this will inspire them to actually do something productive, helpful for the environment, for people and so forth," Jessup said.

Her film can be downloaded for free at http://www.justyellfire.com.

Jessup is now traveling around the world to talk about various safety issues that teen girls face.

She does all of this while maintaining a 3.6 grade point average at Portland's St. Mary's Academy.

To find out if she wins next month, tune in to FOX 12 at 8 p.m. on Aug. 4.

To vote for Jessup and help her win, visit http://www.teenchoiceawards.com.

The winner of the community service award gets a $100,000 grant.