Meet the new Miss Teen Volunteer America
JACKSON, Tenn. —The newly crowned Miss Teen Volunteer America speaks with us on her big win.
Wood wins out of 40 talented girls who traveled from all over the country to compete in the Miss Teen Volunteer of America Pageant here in Jackson.
One winner was chosen Saturday night, Miss Utah, Ayzjiahna Wood was announced the new Miss Teen Volunteer of America!
We got to meet Wood on Sunday and have an interview with her.
Wood expresses how she feels after such a big win.
“I’m feeling incredible! I’m so happy to be supported by so many people. Just to feel that warmth has been surreal to me, and I’m just so happy to be a part of this system now,” Wood said.
Wood thanks her board for helping her with the preparations for Miss Teen Volunteer of America and shares with us what gave her the edge to claim the crown.
“They really wanted to focus on me as an individual. They didn’t want to place me into a mold and have me do specific things that could help me to specifically win the pageant. They just really helped me find myself, and I feel that is what also helped give me an edge. I was just my true, authentic, individual self, and the program loved it. I am your new Miss Teen Volunteer of America. I think that is what helped me,” Wood said.
Wood says she has been doing pageants since she was six-years-old, and being half Filipino, pageants are in her blood due to it being such a big part of the Filipino culture. She said that her mom also played a big part designing a lot of what she wears.
“They say that Filipinos have three things: basketball, pageants, and boxing. We definitely are all about pageants, and so that is why from a young age my mom put me in pageants. Actually talking about my mom she has been a huge part of my whole experience when it comes to pageants,” Wood said.
Wood would also like to thank everyone else who supported her to get to this point.
“I have to give a huge thank you to Miss Volunteer of America, Alexa Knutzen who was also from Utah. How crazy is that, so that was super, super fun. And then my family of course as well, for all of their gracious support,” Wood said.
Wood is grateful to the Miss Teen Volunteer of America program for making girl’s dreams come true.
For more local news stories, click here.
