A Pageant with Values
When you think of a pageant you might picture women on parade in swimsuits while judges score them on how well they strut in high heels. But the Miss Teen of America pageant celebrates a girl’s character as reflected in her school performance and activities. The recently chosen Miss Teen of America, 17–year–old Danielle Yaros, is a girl who is more interested in representing Christ well than in looking beautiful.
Danielle, from Pennsylvania, is active in her home church of First Assembly of God where she has developed many of the skills that helped her stand out above all the other contestants.
“I know that being involved in Fine Arts prepared me to give two great speeches,” says Yaros, who qualified the past two years for the National Youth Ministries Fine Arts Festival in the Short Sermon category. “It gave me the confidence I needed to talk in front of a group of strangers, answer questions on current topics, and participate in a debate about teen issues.”
According to the Miss Teen of America Web site, the judges look at six areas, and total up percentage points for each contestant to determine who will be crowned Miss Teen of America: class rank, grade point average and academic honors; community and school extracurricular involvement; awareness of the world around her is measured in a written test to determine how aware each contestant is of anything from world events to fashion trends; poise and grooming are judged as the contestants try to “reflect a positive teen image” in a chosen formal dress; and to determine level of confidence, personality, and ability to communicate, among other qualities, each contestant is interviewed by a panel of judges.
After holding Danielle up against these standards the judges chose her to reflect a positive teen image for young women and girls. Danielle ranks first in her class of 185, she is a hospital candy striper, a junior class officer, volunteer at an Alzheimer’s assisted living facility, and a member of a teen youth community outreach. Danielle is also the current Level 10 (top level) Pennsylvania state gymnastics champion in the floor exercise. Add to these things her inner joy.
“Danielle is a tremendous young lady and is a model of the joy of the Lord,” said First Assembly Senior Pastor Chad Stoecker. “She’s always smiling — she’s one of the most joyful young ladies I’ve ever met.”
Danielle’s new title gives her an opportunity for the Lord to use her to inspire other girls. The reality of this hit her shortly after being chosen Miss Teen of America.
“After the [national] pageant was over, one of the pageant directors gave me a letter from a girl who was at the event,” she recalls. “It was my first ‘fan mail’ as Miss Teen of America. The girl wrote about how she admired me, that she was glad that I won, and that she saw Jesus in me.”
As Miss Teen of America Danielle receives a $5,000 scholarship to her choice college, and $2,500 cash award. She will also get to make appearances in the United States and Australia. To learn more about the Miss Teen of America pageant check out their Web site.