Many people in Wayne Hills participate in various activities. This story is about Sophia Gutierrez-Campodonico, a senior at Wayne Hills who competes in pageants and is currently Miss Teen New Jersey.
Sophia started doing pageants last year. While getting her hair and makeup done for her quinceanera her makeup artist was Miss New Jersey. She said Sophia would be perfect for the teen division and told her to join. Sophia was so excited to start this new chapter in her life. She says “I used to watch Miss USA with my mom and grandma so when I got the opportunity to do it I was like oh my god this would be so fun.”
Sophia was the underdog in the pageant. She says “You’re supposed to get training for the interview and walking and stuff. But I didn’t do any of that.” Since this was Sophia’s first pageant she didn’t realize all the work you need to put in beforehand. Even though she had zero training she showed up and won the whole thing. She explained that some girls spend an entire year preparing for these pageants and don’t even make it to the top 10. She was truly a natural.
She talked about how stressful pageant days could be. She explained “You would have to wake up at 4 am and get your hair and makeup done at 5. Then you would have to go to a rehearsal for the pageant. Then, you would have a 2-hour break and compete in the pageant.” She says that typically you do this for three days straight. It’s just nonstop pageants for the whole weekend.
Unlike what you see in most movies, her pageants do not have a talent portion. Instead, they focus on walking, interviews, and fitness. For the walking portion of the pageant, you need to look perfect and have a big smile at all times. For the interview part, you have to answer questions on how you could change the world. The fitness portion is only for the teen division. It is a replacement for the bathing suit portion of beauty pageants. Since they are younger, it is inappropriate for them to walk around in bikinis, so instead, they wear fitted crop tops and leggings or biker shorts.
She also explained how the dresses work since appearance is a big part of your final score. She said you would get a dress and wear the same one for three days. She said that some girls would even get two dresses and pick which one they wanted to wear that morning, some girls wear different dresses for different days but most girls do not. She explained how in the teen division you want to look younger so you wear poofy and modest dresses while when you are over 18 you wear tighter dresses and want to look more mature.
This is not the only time that Sophia has to dress modestly since she is a title holder she has a reputation to uphold. She says that everything you do matters even on social media. She said that you cannot post photos with short crop tops or at the beach in a bathing suit. In her words, everything has to be “very bubblegum princess.” This is not her only responsibility as Miss Teen New Jersey. She said she also has to do lots of community service and make appearances to meet little girls and other people. She needs to keep a polished look at all times.
Sophia is the perfect person to do pageants. She is so confident and the best person to walk on a stage. Senior Bella Donato said “When I heard Sophia was doing pageants I knew it would be perfect for her. She is always walking with confidence and has the biggest smile on her face.” Another senior at Wayne Hills, Mia Baccohoni says “She loves hair, makeup, and clothes. She always looks her best and once I heard she was doing pageants I knew she would love it.” Seems like there couldn’t be a better Miss Teen New Jersey.
