By Naeisha Rose
Adria Stacker from Jamaica was declared Miss New York Pre-Teen Cover Girl in early August in New Jersey and is poised to battle it out for the national Miss Pre-Teen National Cover Girl and All-American Miss crowns in the final competitions Nov. 24 in California.
“I was definitely excited,” said Stacker. “This year when I decided I was going to do the pageant I wanted to present them [with] something I was going to be proud of.”
Stacker was declared Miss Pre-Teen Cover Girl for New York Aug. 12 after she had sent in a résumé of her community service, her extracurricular activities, her photo portfolio, artwork and her grades, according to Alicia Leonard-Stacker, her mother.
Throughout the year Adria volunteered at the soup kitchen at the Apostolic Faith Church in Brooklyn and she donated 27 of her old books so that other kids can enjoy them. She practices soccer, track and field, swims and does gymnastics.
Adria is a hip-hop dancer and will be learning to do modern jazz starting this week, too.
Although Adria, 11, appreciates her mom’s photos, being able to have her pictures taken by a professional was fun for the preteen.
“When you take professional pictures, you get to do what pose you like,” said Adria. “You get to express yourself and do different poses.”
For Adria’s artwork she had to draw four items that showed her personality.
“The four things I drew were ballet slippers, a unicorn, soccer and the beach,” said the pageant queen.
A minimum C-average, the bare minimum average for school grades, was another part of the requirement for the pageant, according to Leonard-Stacker, but Adria went above and beyond and earned an A-minus at school.
“The pageant does a great job exposing them to public service, public speaking and building their confidence,” her mother said.
Adria, whose great-great-aunt is from the British Virgin Islands, tackled immigration as her public speaking platform.
“It’s unfair that people are not letting everybody be free and are separating kids from their parents,” said Adria. “It’s sad.”
As the winner of the New York State pageant, Adria received $175, a crown, a banner, a trophy and more.
“She gets to tour Disney World,” said Leonard-Stacker.
Adria will also get to tour Hollywood during her stay in California the week before the Thanksgiving weekend competition.
If Adria wins the National American Miss prize, she will get a VIP tour of Disney World and Hollywood, travel opportunities across the country as a representative of National American Miss, paid airfare up to $350, the state crown, and $1,000.
If she wins the National Cover Girl contest, she will be able to win more cash prizes, along with the tours, college scholarships and she will qualify for the Spotlight Pages for New York’s pageant yearbook.
“The pageant is really good at fostering these young ladies,” said Leonard-Stacker.
Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose
