Published: May 19, 2008 04:56 pm            

Junior Misses encourage other girls to participate

AVON, Ind. — What was once practically a right of passage for high school girls has become just another event in their hectic lives, but reigning Junior Miss winners from Hendricks County are hoping to bring the scholarship program back to its former glory.

Contest coordinators say Junior Miss is not a beauty pageant, but rather a scholarship program. And while there’s big money to be won, the number of participants has dwindled over the years.

Avon Junior Miss Kathleen Grimes, Plainfield Junior Miss Kylee Gephart, and Tri-West Junior Miss Emily Renzi said they’re hoping to change that.

Gephart said the Junior Miss program provides girls from all walks of life a chance to get out of their comfort zone and meet girls they normally may not have associated with. It also prepares participants for life outside of high school, she said.

Grimes added, “The national motto is ‘Be your best self.’ And I think that is something that all of us learned.”

Grimes said she had recently moved to the Avon area and read about Gephart winning the Plainfield Junior Miss title. Seeing the program as an opportunity to meet new girls in the area, she said she contacted the chairperson and signed up to participate.

Gephart said she heard about the program when she was just in seventh grade and had even attend a few of the programs to watch her older sister’s friends compete.

“I’ve known for quite a while that I wanted to do it,” she added.

There are only three Junior Miss programs available in Hendricks County. Participants in the Avon program must live in Washington Township, while participants in the Plainfield program must live in the areas of the Cascade, Mooresville, or Plainfield schools. Participants in the Tri-West program, Renzi said, must live in the townships that make up the North West Hendricks School Corporation.

The girls said participants do not have to attend public school. Homeschooled students and students from private, public, and parochial schools are all welcome.

The one limitation is that the program is for girls who will be entering their senior year of high school.

Gephart, Grimes, and Renzi said they spent the week prior to the program getting to know the other participants, practicing their talents, learning routines, and preparing themselves for interviews.

“I was scared half to death,” Gephart admitted. “Not going to lie, I wanted to quit. But it was worth it in the end to be a part of it, even if you don’t think you’re going to do well.”

Gephart said she believes that the talent portion of the program also scares away a lot of participants.

But Grimes said, “Everybody has a talent, I think.”

Gephart added, “You just have to think outside the box.”

Renzi said participants should stick with a talent that is natural for them and represents them as a person — whether it is singing and dancing, drawing, or martial arts.

Winners of the local programs spend a week in Frankfort, living with host families, in preparation for the state program.

“It’s a little more intensive,” Grimes said.

The winner of the state competition moves on to the national level. Gephart said her roommate at state won the title and got to go to Alabama for the competition.

Renzi, Grimes, and Gephart said they believe the number of contestants is dwindling partly because girls don’t know about the program and partly because many believe it to be a beauty pageant.

Gephart said it’s hard to convince people that the Junior Miss program is not a pageant, because it is very similar to a pageant.

“But you don’t have to be worried about your looks or whatever,” she added. “It’s more of the content of who you are and where your heart’s at.”

Grimes said program officials now award medals, rather than sashes and crowns. She added that the medals state that there is an emphasis on education.

All three of Hendricks County’s Junior Miss winners from last year said they plan to help with their local programs this year.

Renzi said she is hoping to talk with the junior girls from Tri-West High School and have them participate in summer activities to gear them up for the program.

She added that it would also help if school officials were involved in the program.

“We need to try and get more funding, like more sponsors to help raise our scholarship money,” Renzi said.

Gephart said the Plainfield Junior Miss is coming up fast, so girls wanting to participate need to fill out an application by the end of May.

Grimes said the deadline for the Avon program is June 23.

The Tri-West program is held sometime in late October or early November, so applications are due in September.

For those interested in participating in this year’s Junior Miss programs, e-mail Kelly Thomas at kellycthomas@hotmail.com for information on the Plainfield program, call Marlys Pedigo at 244-4054 for information on the Avon program, or e-mail Shannon Miller at millertime439@msn.com for information on the Tri-West program.





Amanda Roach writes for the Hendricks County Flyer in Avon, Ind.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.