This past July, magnet sophomore Amelia Hussong won the national title of America’s Ideal Miss Jr. Teen, proudly representing North Georgia and NC. Beginning her pageant journey at three years old, Amelia has collected various crowns, sashes and trophies from her endeavors. When she steps out, she embodies poise and grace, proudly representing her achievements.
The Ideal Miss pageant strives to encourage young ladies to achieve their goals and become familiar with their community. The pageant develops contestants’ social and public speaking abilities with which people commonly struggle. By encouraging them to showcase their talents and strengths, pageants help young women prepare for their life ahead. The pageant structure allows kids and teens to become well-rounded citizens who positively impact the world.
Hussong won the prestigious national title of America’s Ideal Miss Jr. Teen and demonstrated a fiery passion for her talents July 27, 2024, in Columbus, Georgia. To qualify for the pageant, the participant needs to manage an unpaid volunteer service that benefits the community within 12 months. The contestants also need to sit with a judge for a three minute interview and represent themselves as a polite young woman through their speaking skills. They show proper poise through their clothes as well: each participant wears a formal, floor-length evening gown that matches each other in style and color. Pageantry helps young ladies look professional while representing themselves as active participants in their community, which can help them gain future jobs and reach success in their careers.
This particular pageant requires the girls to complete community service hours in order to begin a pageant. Each contestant needs to partake in one project that immediately impacts their community per year to qualify for participation. The pressure of the community service project due date helps potential contestants understand the importance of deadlines and their impact on the community. For example, Hussong’s project Be Your B.E.S.T. attempts to help young girls in the area find their voice and communicate with others. Hussong teaches younger girls how to take initiative and positively impact their community through the pageant industry.
“In my eyes, pageantry is an outlet for girls and women to build confidence, find their passions, make a difference in their community and set themselves up for success in the future. Through pageantry, my self confidence has grown immensely, but I’m also able to help girls gain confidence through my club project Be Your B.E.S.T. One of the main components of pageantry is communication and public speaking and helping others through meaningful community service projects, and I found those passions through competing in pageants,” Hussong said.
Pageants also positively affect the contestants’ social lives. These girls gain an outgoing personality as they grasp a higher social skill set allowing them the opportunity to learn to communicate with others in a clear manner about important subjects. Hussong displays a blossoming social life because of the influence of pageants on her personality and mannerisms. She maintains healthy friendships such as her friendship with NC sophomore Claire Doucette — all while balancing school and pageants. She still manages to offer her time to help her community when allowed the chance, even with her busy schedule.
“I have been friends with Amelia for a little over a year. She can make friends easily, and I think a big part of that comes from pageants. She speaks very well and can socialize with a variety of people. The community service she does helps her become aware of her community and connect with people around her, which [then helps] her create and support her future events,” Doucette said.
Overall, pageants create an opportunity to become a model citizen and achieve success through connecting with pageant family and community. The pageant life positively benefits Amelia Hussong by influencing her to become a better person overall.
