NHS Student To Take On The World

By Eliza Hallabeck

Last year, Newtown High School student Paige Olson was crowned Miss Connecticut Teen 2010 in the Princess America Pageants. This year, the outgoing and community-minded student has her focus set on conquering the world.

She earned her most recent title, Miss Teen Connecticut World, this past December when she placed fifth in the Miss Teen Connecticut USA pageant.

Being named fifth in the pageant was no easy task, says Paige.

“The national director of Miss Teen Connecticut World, Gaspar Cruz, was sitting in the audience,” said Paige recently. “He actually sent me a message on Facebook the next day asking if I would be his Connecticut representative, since he didn’t really have a girl yet for Connecticut.”

She has not yet received her crown and sash officially for the Miss Teen Connecticut World title, but has big plans for what she will do as the pageant representative in the state.

The national pageant for the Miss Teen World title will be held June 26 to July 2 in Houston.

“I’m looking for sponsors, people who would want to have their names in my ad book and support me going all the way to nationals representing Connecticut and Newtown,” said Paige.

Anyone interested in supporting the Newtowner’s entry in the Miss Teen World pageant can contact her via e-mail at missteenctworld2011@gmail.com.

When not participating in pageants, Paige said she stays busy in the community. In the past year she has worked with the Newtown Lions Club, including emceeing the group’s Duck Race Day last May. At school Paige has also been inducted in the National Honor Society.

When not at school, Paige said she is interested in designing dresses and furthering her pageant experience.

Paige hopes to attend college at the Savannah (Ga.) College of Art and Design. She has already been accepted in to the college’s fashion program.

Paige first became a pageant contestant when she was 15 years old, and in the three years since she says she has learned a lot and developed as a person.

“Doing pageants gives you confidence, poise, and life skills. It lets you be involved with a lot of people you wouldn’t have met otherwise,” Paige said.

Long before her drive to participate in pageants, Paige admitted to having an “obsession with crowns.” Every day when attending fourth grade at Middle Gate Elementary School, Paige wore a tiara on her head.

“I got made fun of it so much, but I didn’t care because I loved it so much,” said Paige.

At first Paige said she took participating in pageants to be a challenge to beat the “dumb pageant girls,” but she now says she learned early on that was not the case.

“Most of the girls I have met have National Honor Society backgrounds like myself,” said Paige, “and they have very high [grade point averages]. I’ve met girls who want to be engineers.”

As an 18-year-old, this is Paige’s final year competing in her age category, and she said she will start up again when she turns 21, the next age bracket for competing.