Return of Miss Teen Volunteer America

JACKSON, Tenn. — One pageant returns, helping young ladies build confidence and a strategy to come out on top.

Miss Teen Volunteer America is back this year for a chance to see the best of the best on the runway competing for an opportunity of a lifetime. As a highly anticipated national experience, Founder and president, Allison Demarcus, shares the science behind it all.

“To hone their craft, hone their skills, and to gain the self confidence & stage presence that they all are already doing in their own worlds, in their own states, regional communities, and theaters in their own areas. It’s about bringing them together on a national level , and hopefully elevating everything that they’ve been doing,” explained Allison Alderson Demarcus.

The contestants are from across the country like New Hampshire, California, New York, and even as far as Hawaii.

“They started out this morning competing in the interview competition, and this will be the very first stage competition tonight. We’ll have one group that’s competing in talent, and the other group will compete in the fitness and evening gown competition,” Demarcus shared.

It’s the time of year to expect a huge crowd with all eyes on you.

“In the south we’ve got a lot of competition,” Demarcus said.

Everyone’s in it to win it! It’s not a game of jeopardy but it certainly takes strategy to get to the top.

“Our reigning national title holding says that she’s been working for four years to get to the point where she won the national title last year, so that was a good reminder to me that it took her a long time to get here,” said Demarcus.

Demarcus shares the point of their mission and how she’s been inspired.

“I like doing it because it’s exciting to see these young women develop the interpersonal skills and the confidence that they need. So many of them are battling so many different types of things whether it’s something personal with their family, or dealing with things in their schools, with friends, with relationships what have you. The things that they learn here and the skills that they are learning help them get better job interviews and it helps them get into better schools,” Demarcus shared.

The preliminary competition continues Friday, and Saturday is the day one young lady will take home the next title of Miss Teen Volunteer America.