By Courtney Dentch
Between her brown belt in tae kwon do and her piloting skills in the Civil Air Patrol, St. Albans teen Shaunté Sherrod says she’s a tomboy. But wearing the diamond tiara and the satin sash she earned as a finalist in the New York state competition of the Miss American Teen Pageant, she seems like anything but a tomboy.
Sherrod, 16, of 119-16 195th St. in St. Albans, will be vying for the state title against about 250 other girls from around the state in mid-August to go on to the national competition in Florida later this year.
Sherrod’s interest in the pageant started two years ago, when her sister Nicole, now 19, was competing. Nicole won the title of Miss Spirit and scholarship money, Sherrod said. After modeling hairstyles for neighborhood salons, Sherrod decided to enter the pageant herself.
“Modeling and the pageants were always stuff I liked,” she said. “It’s a form of expression and you get to meet new people.”
But her interests do not stop there. Sherrod keeps herself very busy, running from her part-time job at Wendy’s to her tae kwon do classes; from her pre-medical classes at Hillcrest High School to the YMCA, where she volunteers as a peer leader and counselor; from Girl Scouts, where she helps out at a food pantry, to the Civil Air Patrol, a junior division of the Air Force; and from church to her pageant duties selling advertisements and lining up sponsors.
“I’m an active person, I can’t stay still,” she said of her many activities. “I always want to help people. I just started all these things to keep me busy.”
Although she enjoys each activity, Sherrod does sometimes feel the pressure.
“I come in racking my brain, saying, ‘Mom, I’ve got tests, Regents, how am I going to do all this?’” She said. “It’s good to have family support.”
Family and community support are a large part of pageant life, Sherrod said. Now that she has earned a spot in the state final competitions, she is getting ready for the event.
The Miss American Teen pageant is a little bit different from the Miss America competition, Sherrod said. There are three mandatory categories in which the girls participate: personal introduction, the interview and formal wear, she said.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Sherrod said. “You learn how to stand and to always have a smile on your face.”
There are also a number of other categories the girls can chose to enter themselves in, including Miss Photogenic, Miss Spirit, Miss Model, Swimsuit, Talent and others, she said. Sherrod is competing in the photogenic, model, and talent categories and using her tae kwon do skills as her talent, she said.
The girls also compete for Miss Hostess, a competition among the entrants to sell advertisements in the pageant program. With two full pages under her belt, Sherrod is going strong and hopes to earn the title, she said. The winner earns a scholarship and a trip to Walt Disney World, she said.
“I get to go out and talk to people about the pageant,” she said of selling the ads. “There’s a lot of competition, but I want to go to Disney World.”
As a veteran pageant mom, Sherrod’s mother, Carol Stallworth, sees the pageant as a great experience for the girls.
“The pageant is mainly for the girls to improve their self-esteem and to accomplish their dreams,” she said.
But Sherrod’s dreams are a little different from those of your average beauty queen. Sherrod plans to join the Air Force ROTC in college to help cover tuition costs and put herself through medical school, she said. Between flying jets and defending the country, Sherrod wants to become a gynecologist, she said.
“I want to help educate young women about their bodies.”
But right now she’s concentrating on the pageant, she said. She’s both excited and nervous to learn the opening number the girls will perform during the ceremony.
“I was just laughing at my sister when she was learning the dance,” Sherrod said. “Now it’s my turn.”
Nerves aside, Sherrod is enjoying the experience.
“I wish I would have started earlier,” she said. “You get to meet people and travel.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 138.
