Local teen to compete in national pageant
Pope, who’s beautiful, which is good, and smart, which is better, is on her way to Nashville to represent Colorado in the Miss Teen America pageant. It’s the first pageant of any kind, and the first time she’s ever been through anything like this.
“I saw it on television and I thought I’d like to try it,” she said.
She filled out the application form, wrote an essay about keeping Colorado beautiful by protecting its natural resources and not overbuilding, packaged them together with a photograph, and dropped it all in the mail.
The next thing she knew, she received two handbooks with lists of stuff she needed to do.
“I’ve never done any pageants before,” said Pope. “Colorado isn’t really big on that sort of thing.”
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Life, said the young Pope, should be an adventure.
For Pope, poise is no problem, although she said getting used to walking around in stiletto heels has been a challenge.
“So far, I haven’t broken anything, not even my ankles,” she joked.
Contestants are judged on volunteer community service, scholastic achievement, leadership, extracurricular involvement, community interaction, essay, verbal expression in presentation, poise and formal expression in evening wear, talent, modeling and physical fitness and appearance.
The essay on which she’ll be judged at the pageant is about alcoholism among teen-agers. For talent, she’s singing “Think of Me,” from “Phantom of the Opera.”
Pope, a student at Battle Mountain High School, lists her interests and hobbies as singing in the choir, playing the flute in the band, competing on the speech team, performing in the musical and cheering on the varsity cheerleading squad.
During the summer she volunteers with the Betty Ford Alpine Garden, the Community Rummage Sale and Habitat for Humanity.
She is the daughter of Steve and Carolyn Pope.
Technically, the whole deal is the Continental Miss Teen America Scholarship Program. Organizers say they hand out about a half million dollars in scholarship money every year.
For representing Colorado, Pope will receive a $10,000 scholarship to Johnson and Wales University and the chance for more at the Miss Teen America pageant.
If she wins in Nashville she will compete in the Miss Teen Galaxy pageant, an international pageant for teens, to be held in Canada next summer.
