Miss Teen Labrador Achievement

By AIMEE CHAULK

The Labradorian

There's a competition happening in Labrador City this week, and it's serious business.

"It's not about having a pretty face. It's about the future leaders of our province and giving young women an opportunity to express themselves," said Kathy Dicks-Peyton, co-ordinator of the Miss Teen Labrador Achievement Pageant.

Yes, that's right. Pageant.

At best, that word usually brings to mind images of sleekly over-styled women mouthing platitudes about world peace. At worst, it conjures images of Miss Teen South Carolina butchering world geography and the English language in a popular Internet video.

But this pageant is different. The young women competing for the title of Miss Teen Labrador Achievement are intelligent, active, community-minded volunteers, not fluffy Barbie-doll clones. Even though they signed up for the pageant, they don't see themselves as typical beauty queens.

"I'm not the type of girl who would go into stuff like this," said Tobey Andersen, a Grade 12 student at J.C. Erhardt Memorial School in Makkovik. Ms. Andersen is flying all the way to Labrador City, courtesy of Provincial Airlines, to compete in the pageant.

Jessica Holmes, 16, also saw herself as an unlikely candidate.

"At first I wasn't sure if it was something I really wanted to do because I've never been the kind of girly-girl that I thought pageants were supposed to be about," said Ms. Holmes, who is a Grade 11 student at Eric G. Lambert School in Churchill Falls.

"But in the end, I realized that I wanted to enter so I could prove to people and myself that you don't have to be stick-skinny to be a winner, that it's not about what you look like. It's about what you're there to prove," she said.

And while the pageant doesn't cater to the hairspray set, its high-achieving contestants are making waves in the pageant world.

The Miss Teen Labrador Achievement pageant is only in its second year of operation, but already it has crowned a national pageant winner.

Krista Collins, last year's titleholder from Churchill Falls, went on to be first-runner-up at the Miss Teen Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador Pageant and then was crowned Miss Teen Canada Galaxy in Mississauga, ON.

She's got an impressive set of high heels to fill, that's for sure. But according to Ms. Dicks-Peyton, Ms. Collins's success is simply an indication of what other girls in Labrador can achieve.

"For the first year of the event to have such an accomplished winner speaks volumes about the quality of young people we have in Labrador," she said.

 The quality of the candidates is evident in their reasons for competing in the pageant.

Sharayah Penney and Angelia Strugnell, two contestants and close friends from Port Hope Simpson, saw the pageant as an opportunity to prepare for their post-secondary education.

"I decided to enter it because I heard you can get scholarships for it and I knew it would be a good experience, a chance for me to go to Labrador City, somewhere I haven't been, and to gain confidence and meet new people and all that fun stuff," said Ms. Penney.

"I was interested in the scholarship and I was interested in the experience," echoed Ms. Strugnell.

Other girls entered the pageant because they wanted to show other girls that anything is possible.

"I'm entering the pageant because over the past few years, I've achieved a lot and I believe I can be a great role model for many girls across Labrador," said Alyssa Lake, 16, from Churchill Falls, who started a chapter of Students Against Drinking and Driving at her school.

"The whole point of the pageant is to be a role model who has confidence, and you don't need to be a girly-girl to have confidence...I think people can relate to me," said Ashley Rae Dicks, 15, also from Churchill Falls. She plays hockey and volleyball, and is also involved in her school's SADD chapter.

Judging by the contestants' impressive resumés, their peers already see them as role models.

The young women are very community-minded, and all of them had positive things to say about growing up in small, remote communities.

"Makkovik is great because we're still strong with our culture and all the community comes together all of the time as one," said Tobey Andersen.

"It's a small community and makes it feel like a family."

 And, in Port Hope Simpson, the girls are equally enthusiastic about their hometown.

"Port Hope Simpson is a beautiful place to go," said Angelia Strugnell, who cross-country skis from her house to the lake every day.

"It's small, but everybody knows everybody and you can pretty much stop and talk to whoever you want," added Sharayah Penney.

That sentiment was echoed by the Churchill Falls crew.

"Churchill Falls is a great place to live just because it has so many nice people and they're so supportive and they just help me through everything," said Alyssa Lake.

The girls' pride in their communities has not gone unnoticed. Many people feel proud about their local pageant participants in return.

In Makkovik, the community has been rallying around Ms. Andersen to show support. She's been selling raffle tickets on a pair of snowshoes made by community member Henry Jacque.

"She has an awareness of issues that affect her and her people," said J.C. Erhardt principal Rick Plowman of Ms. Andersen.

"She's a very community-oriented person and helps out everywhere. She's well-respected," he said.

Joanne Sampson, vice-principal of D.C. Young School in Port Hope Simpson, has equally glowing reviews of Ms. Strugnell and Ms. Penney.

"They strive to do their best in everything they partake in, and as a school we wish them the best," she said.

"We hope they do well, and we're very proud even for them taking the chance and going down to Labrador City."

But in the end, when it comes down to it, these accomplished young women have won the respect of their peers and community members, no matter the results of the pageant. And what's more, they recognize that fact.

"It's just going to be about friends and having fun," said Jessica Holmes.

Churchill Falls native wins Miss Teen Canada Galaxy pageant
 
Pam Morrissey
The Aurora

Sixteen couldn’t get any sweeter for Churchill Falls native Krista Collins.

The young girl competed in the Miss Teen Canada Galaxy Pageant from Aug. 9-12 in Mississauga, Ontario, and the day before her 16th birthday she was crowned the winner.

“It was quite the surprise,” Krista said in a telephone interview from Churchill Falls. “It was really exciting.”

The honour student took her first foray into pageants in February went she got involved in the inaugural Miss Teen Labrador Achievement Pageant. She thought it would be fun to go to Labrador City for the weekend, meet and spend time with some new girls, but never expected the win would take her to the provincial pageant.

She was the first runner up to Miss Teen Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador earlier this year, which is how she got the opportunity to attend the recent national event.

“The Newfoundland and Labrador pageant winner wasn't able to attend the Miss Teen Canada Galaxy pageant, so they asked me if I’d like to go in her place,” Krista explained.

The teenager from Churchill Falls jumped at the chance for another competition and though the pageant scene was more hectic in Ontario, Krista loved every minute.

“It was quite busy,” she said with a chuckle. “We had our hair and make-up done and were running around all over this huge hotel.”

Krista competed against only one other girl in the teen category since it’s a fairly new pageant, but she still worked hard to rack up the points.

“There were five main components to the pageant,” Krista pointed out. “Ten per cent was photogenic – we submitted a photo for judging – 30 per cent was the interview, which consisted of 10 questions panel-style; 30 per cent was the swimsuit, the evening gown was 30 per cent and you could receive a maximum of 10 bonus points on the impromptu question.”

Krista said while it was a competition – there were four pageants occurring concurrently – the pageant exuded a friendly atmosphere. The other girls participating in the Miss, Ms. and Mrs. Canada Galaxy Pageants were extremely supportive of each other and Krista had an incredible time getting to know everyone.

And even though there was only one other girl in her category she was floored when her name was announced as the winner.

“Since there were only two of us I did have a 50-50 chance, but you just don’t know,” she said. “It’s really hard to be interviewed, I messed up my evening wear walk really bad, so I thought that was the end of the world on pageant night, but I guess not.”

She’s eagerly accepted the position now though and was amazed by how many good prizes she won as a result. In addition to the crown, sash and plaque that goes with the Miss Teen Canada Galaxy distinction, the teenager also took home numerous gift certificates, a $1,500 cash prize, some beautiful jewelry, the chance to take part in an official photo shoot, but the most exciting part for Krista is the opportunity to compete in an international pageant.

She’ll be heading to the Miss Teen Galaxy Pageant in Florida next July to compete against girls from all over the United States as well as some teens from Europe.

The best part for Krista though was when she was able to return to her hometown of Churchill Falls.

“Monday was my birthday and when I got home there was quite a crowd in my house,” she said with a laugh. “The basement was full with my friends and people just kept on coming in. That was pretty fun.

She said she never really thought about pageants until she had the chance to participate in the Labrador event, but as a little girl remembers watching the Miss Universe pageants and thinking it seemed like fun. She said almost every little girl dreams of wearing a crown at some point in their lives and while she’s glad she’s had the opportunity participating for her isn’t about the prizes.

“It’s a wonderful experience,” Krista stated emphatically. “It gives young girls job interview experience, it’s a good confidence booster to be able to walk out on the stage and strut your stuff – it’s all your moment – and if you can walk out and give a speech in front of a group of people that’s a great skill to have.”

She noted the Miss Teen Labrador Achievement Pageant will be going ahead again this year in Labrador City from February 14-16, 2008 and she encourages all young women to get involved and give pageantry a try.

“It’s a lot of fun and it’s a wonderful way to meet new people,” she said. “I’ve had a great year and would like to thank everyone for their support from my sponsors to my friends and family. It’s been big hugs all around.”

According to Kathy Dicks-Peyton, director of the Miss Teen Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador Pageant, regional pageants are held in many other areas of the province and the pageant board decided it would be nice to hold an event in Labrador.  “It’s a preliminary for the provincial pageant,” she explained. “We’re having a preliminary to choose a representative to come to the provincial pageant in March.”

Ms. Dicks-Peyton said the pageant is designed to encourage positive achievement by helping nurture, build scholastic achievement, healthy living and community involvement in young Labrador women.  The event provides young girls with the opportunity to further their goals by expressing issues that are important to them and relevant to the Labrador region.

“It’s an official preliminary pageant to the Miss Teen Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador Pageant,” she stated. “The winner will compete for thousands of dollars in scholarships in the Miss Teen Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador Pageant in St. John’s.”

The provincial winner will receive a $1,000 tuition voucher which is payable to any Canadian university and she’ll also receive public relations training, a one-week all-expense paid educational trip to Ottawa, gift certificates and the winner also gets the opportunity to participate in a national or international pageant representing the province.  Ms. Dicks-Peyton said the runners-up also receive scholarships, however, they aren’t redeemable until the winners provide proof that they will be attending a recognized post-secondary institution.

The Labrador pageant winner will also receive some benefits.  “The winner will become a role model and voice for young people in Labrador and we hope to have her travel to as many festivals, events, charitable fundraisers, conferences and speaking engagements as possible within the region,” Ms. Dicks-Peyton said. “They also get to speak on a platform of their choice, something that’s important to them and when the winner travels around she’ll be promoting that platform to young people.”

There will also be a first and second runner-up, she said, along with a winner for Teen Spirit. The Teen Spirit award is like a friendship award that’s voted on by the contestants and presented to the person they believe embodies the spirit of friendship and competition and best exemplifies the desire to be a good example for others.

The deadline to apply is Dec. 31 and application forms can be found online at www.freewebs.com/teenlabrador. The fee is $50 and Ms. Dicks-Peyton hopes the pageant will be a success.  “It’s not a beauty pageant,” she stressed. “Contestants get the opportunity to meet other outstanding teens, they build confidence, meet educational goals, build character, win prizes and get the chance to represent their region at the Miss Teen Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador Pageant.”

Ms. Dicks-Peyton noted contestants are judged on five criteria including an interview with the judges (worth 50 per cent), an on-stage introduction (10 per cent), evening gown (10 per cent), platform statement (20 per cent) and an impromptu question (worth 10 per cent).
There will be a number of guest speakers at the pageant as well, including Miss Canada Scholarship Kristen Parsons and Miss Canada Galaxy Sherrylynn Butt.

The director hopes at least 12 teenagers sign up for the pageant and she believes it’s a great way to boost self-confidence in young girls while promoting education.  “The Miss Teen Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador Pageant was founded on the principle that the future of our province is dependent on the leadership qualities of today’s youth,” she said. “We believe volunteer work and community service should be both encouraged and rewarded and we further believe in order to become a strong leader a young woman must be well-rounded, she must challenge herself academically, she must be physically fit, poised and must be able to exude confidence and self-esteem.”

Ms. Dicks-Peyton feels all young girls can benefit from participating in a pageant and she hopes to see a good turnout for the upcoming Miss Teen Labrador Achievement Pageant.