Isan Elba on Balancing Her Golden Globe Ambassador Duties and Schoolwork

For Isan Elba, getting a text from Idris Elba is any other day. (He's probably saved in her contacts as "Dad," after all.) But Isan recently received a message from the actor that truly shook things up: She found out that she would be the Golden Globe Ambassador at the award show's 2019 ceremony, arguably one of the buzziest gigs in showtime.

"He told me that there's a huge surprise for me," the 16-year-old tells Teen Vogue about the moment she found out she would be the next Ambassador. "And I hate surprises, so I was like, 'What is it? What is it? What is it?' He's really busy, so he sent me a text that I was the Golden Globe Ambassador. I was in shock, because I could not really believe it. And so I asked my mom [makeup artist and businesswoman Kim Elba] about it, and she was like, 'Yeah, you're the Golden Globe Ambassador.'" Ecstatic about the opportunity, Isan then spent the next 15 minutes screaming and jumping around her room.

The excitement is understandable, given that every year, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association taps an Ambassador to help escort presenters and winners on and off the stage at the Golden Globes. Last year, Simone Garcia Johnson served as the first Ambassador, a switch-up from the award show's storied history of Miss or Mr. Golden Globe. In her capacity as the Ambassador, Isan will team up with an organization to help bring awareness to a cause of her choosing; her focus, she says, will be on erasing mental health stigma among black people and teenagers.

She's not alone in her work. Kofi Siriboe and Taraji P. Henson are among the celebrities who are working to break down misconceptions about mental health and help provide resources for black people who are seeking help specifically. Though she hasn't decided which organization she'd like to work with yet, Isan shouted out Taraji's foundation, the Boris Lawson Henson Foundation, as one doing crucial work in the space. According to Mental Health America, stigma can be a contributing factor in why some black people feel prevented from seeking help.

"In the African American community it's quite taboo, and it's not really something that we talk about," she explains. "And with teenagers, they can just be really rude and mean. So I definitely want to normalize asking for help and encourage African Americans and teens that it's OK to ask for help. We need to make this normal, and we need to make this [conversation] comfortable for everybody, because mental health is just as important as physical health."

But asking for help can often feel easier said than done, and Isan admits that opening up about your struggles if you've never done so before, or are unsure about what support system you have, can feel daunting. "Schools try and say, 'you can talk to anyone and just trust an adult at your school.' And I think that is such a hard thing to do," Isan says. "It is hard to ask for help, and to speak to someone that you may not feel comfortable talking about your problems." Instead, she suggests finding someone "that you can trust, [and] that you know and feel comfortable with" to get started.

Stress is often a contributing factor to someone's mental health status; as a junior in high school, Isan's workload will only double with her Golden Globe Ambassador duties. She's prepared, however, and is determined to take things one project at a time. "Right now, I have two term papers due, an essay, and then I have two tests when I come back [from break], so I have a lot on my plate," she says. Her teachers, by the way, won't take her role as Ambassador as a reason to ask for an extension on any of her work: "They don't care," she admits with a laugh. "But at the same time, this is such great experience, and I would never change this for the world. So I'm definitely just taking it in the moment, because I'd definitely be stressing about this term paper about the progressive era that I have due! You definitely have to know your limits and know what you can handle."

Beyond the January 6, 2019 air-date for the Golden Globes ceremony, Isan is setting her eyes on another big win: Getting into New York University, where she hopes to study film and television at the Tisch School of the Arts. She's also eyeing the programs at USC and UCLA, and plans on fitting college campus tours into her packed schedule. To get through such a hefty workload, she talks with her therapist regularly — it doesn't need to be "a big issue that I'm talking to him about. It could just be anything in life that can build up," she explains. She recommends that seeing a therapist is for anyone, but also gets support from her parents.

"Just live in the moment, honestly. That is definitely something that [both parents] teach me, because you literally only live once," she says. "So just take in the time that you have. Don't stress about stuff." She knows that is "easier said than done," but it's a credo she hopes will carry her through until she gives out the last award at the Golden Globes and beyond.

Until then, well, there's the school papers — and also catching up on the last few episodes of American Horror Story. "I need to catch up!" Isan exclaims. "My friends keep telling me about it, and I'm like, 'Yes, I need it. Please.'" She counts the show's cast as the people most likely to make her starstruck at the Golden Globes. Because yes, she'll be presenting awards and mingling with winners all night, but Isan really is just like any other teenage TV fan, down to the paper she has due next week.

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