Itzel Huerta of Plainfield said she always dreamed “to be on stage or in the public eye.”

She now is an international pageant queen, United Nations youth ambassador and advocate of sustainability.

On Oct. 18, Huerta, now 20, was crowned Miss Eco Teen International 2025 at the pageant, which was held in Egypt. Huerta’s mother, Reina Huert, is thrilled that her daughter fulfilled her long-standing goal.

“All the time she was asking about going to the stage or dancing or modeling or doing something that’s in the public eye,” Reina Huerta said. “So it was my place to help her and motivate her in making her dreams a reality.”

Miss Eco Teen is a competition for young women ages 14 to 19 that “celebrates beauty and talent but also champions environmental awareness and sustainability,” according to the Miss Eco International website.

The Miss Eco Teen winner also earns a UN youth ambassador title, since she spends her reigning year “promoting charities” that align with the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals, according to the website.

Itzel Huerta wasted no time making her dreams reality.

By age 8, she was registering for talent shows and other activities that put her “in front of the camera,” Itzel said.

At age 16, Itzel served as a designer to a fashion show and found her niche.

“I felt very inspired by all the models backstage,” Itzel said. “I wanted to dedicate myself to something like that.”

At age 17, Itzel was connecting with photographers on social media sites, which is how she landed paid modeling work.

“Obviously, I had my mom by my side the whole time,” Itzel said.

Then, 18 months ago, Itzel enrolled in María Bonita Modeling in Roselle so she could train for pageants.

This led her to the Miss Eco Teen International competition.

“I wanted to grow more as a person, and I’d heard a lot of good things about pageants,” Itzel said. “I thought it’d be a good experience.”

Becoming Miss Illinois Eco Teen qualified Itzel for the national competition.

She said on social media that she also represented her roots in 2025 when she earned the title of Miss Eco Teen Venezuela 2025.

Among Itzel’s first duties as Miss Eco Teen International was serving as a guest judge for the preteen competition in Florida.

However, she must organize most of her own sustainability activities. She needs to participate in one every 45 days, so she said she’s reaching out to libraries and schools.

“Anything to make an impact on somebody,” Itzel said.

Itzel also wants to travel to Colombia and Ecuador to promote sustainability, she said. She plans on both her parents accompanying her.

Itzel’s father is Salvador Huerta, a deacon at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Joliet, she said.

Overall, Itzel especially wants to partner with programs that educate “the next generation,” she said.

“Obviously, we recycle at home,” Itzel said. “But I never really took into account how important it was to reduce our plastic usage. I think taking care of our planet is very important, and I want to learn more and more as my reign continues.”