A young woman from Yorkton is going to make her mark on the stage. Kirsten MacDonald is taking part in Miss Teenage Saskatchewan, with the goal of making it to the national event in Toronto.
MacDonald has always wanted to do a pageant for years. Taking a break from school after graduation, she says that the opportunity came up and she decided to jump at it. She says that in the run up to the competition, she’s had to be in the public more, which is giving her more confidence.
“I have been stepping out of my comfort zone a lot more.”
The application process involved a written application as well as an interview with the executive director of Miss Teenage Canada, Michelle Weswaldi, where she was asked about her goals, her inspirations and her reasons for wanting to get involved in the pageant. She learned that she was accepted two days later, and says she couldn’t contain her excitement.
“I was screaming in the living room!”
The competition has swimwear, evening gown and judge interview components. While MacDonald admits she’s nervous, she says that’s something common among the girls at the event.
The girls in the competition also get opportunities to do workshops on modeling, public speaking and things of that nature. MacDonalds sees it as an opportunity, especially as she has been nervous doing things like public speaking before so she can use it as a chance to get comfortable with it.
“It’s going to be a lot of work... I think this is a great experience for girls, and I wish I did it a lot sooner.”
Each girl in the competition has a “platform,” or an issue that they want to highlight through their involvement in the competition. For MacDonald, she is focused on preventing bullying, a cause that she is passionate about because of her own past. She says that as a young girl, she was picked on because she has a high metabolism, and other kids would make fun of her appearance.
“I always wanted to help people. Especially when you’re so young, and you don’t even know your own bodies yet. I didn’t see a difference, but I was a lot smaller than other people.”
Girls in the competition are also encouraged to raise money for a specific charity. This year, that charity is Cardiac Kids, which raises money for kids with heart disease. They get points towards their eventual total through raising money for the charity, with one point per hundred dollars raised, to a maximum of 15 points.
She’s also getting local businesses involved in her effort, with Pretty Face Makeup Studio and Shear Bliss Hair Salon contributing hair and makeup to her effort.
MacDonald sees it as being a benefit to her future career, especially since it is a charity-focused event. Right now, she wants to get into the medical field because she has the ultimate goal of helping people, and she believes that she can also help people, whether it’s raising money for sick kids or talking to people of the problem of bullying.
The pageant takes place on April 16 and 17 in Saskatoon.
“It’s going to be awesome.”
