2008 Woodie Awards
Freshman enters SRU after competing in Miss Teen USA
By Liz Glazier
Rocket Assistant Focus Editor
Issue date: 9/14/07 Section: Focus
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Slippery Rock student and Miss Teen Pennsylvania Kelsie Sinagra does not fit this cliché mold in any way. And that's just the way she likes it.
The 17-year-old secondary education major was just like any other student growing up in North Hills, Pa.
She was on the yearbook staff and a member of both the track and dance teams.
The one thing that set her apart from others her age was that she was also competing in beauty pageants.
At age 13, Kelsie got a letter in the mail from the American Coed Pageant Company that informed her about the pageants in which she was eligible to compete.
"She came to us and asked if we cared if she tried it out," said Kelsie's dad, George Sinagra. "We thought it was a great idea and we went from there."
The first pageant she participated in was the American Coed Miss Pennsylvania Junior Teen Pageant in 2003. Her talent was a dance routine.
She competed in this pageant again the following year and ended up winning first place.
She went on to compete in a total of five pageants. The title that is the most prestigious is the Miss Teen Pennsylvania, which she won when she was 15.
"There was a total of 188 girls there," Kelsie said. "In Pennsylvania, you go straight to state level, so there were many girls trying out for the title that had never been in pageants before."
Kelsie said the pageants were nerve-racking. During the rehearsal for Miss Teen Pennsylvania, she said she was randomly chosen to be in the mock top five.
This was practiced so when the top five contestants were announced, the girls would know what to do and where to go.
She was then announced to be in the top five during the actual pageant and it was her turn in the question-and-answer round.
Yet even with prior practice, after answering her question, instead of walking back to her spot like previously practiced, she said she walked completely off stage.
"I caught the eye of one of the judges and she kind of nodded to me to get back on stage," Kelsie said.
"You can actually see me on tape running back to my spot."
Even after the small error, Kelsie was crowned Miss Teen Pennsylvania.
After winning, she said her friends and family didn't treat her differently at all.
"None of us really expected it, so we just had fun with it and no one acted differently after the fact," Kelsie said.
Both friends and family of Kelsie describe her as a very confident and down-to-earth girl and feel that these qualities really help her in competitions.
One of Kelsie's close friends, 18-year-old freshman physical education major Kelly Bruder, was able to experience her friend getting crowned.
"Kelsie and I have been friends since preschool and I was there along with some of our friends to see her get crowned, which was great," Bruder said. "She is definitely a girl that deserves it."
Kelsie has support from her friends and also her family. Her parents said they tell Kelsie to just be herself and have fun.
"We encourage her to do her best, have a good time and enjoy herself," George said. "We have all learned to go into competitions with very realistic expectations and we just let her be herself."
As Miss Teen Pennsylvania, there were some duties that Sinagra had to fulfill.
"Now that I'm at school, my schedule has calmed down, but before there was a lot of preparation, charity events and, of course, several parades," Kelsie said.
The real preparation came when it was time to get ready for Miss Teen USA.
Kelsie said some preparation came easy but that some parts were not as enjoyable as others.
"The hardest part about preparing for a pageant is the dieting and exercising," Kelsie said.
"I started preparing about three months before the state pageant, but preparation for Miss Teen USA was basically all year."
There is also preparation that Kelsie's parents must go through.
"There are always out-of-pocket expenses such as gowns and traveling costs," George said. "Nothing too drastic though (and) it's all worth it."
After the preparation and anticipation, the Miss Teen USA pageant was finally held in Pasadena, Calif., from Aug. 12 to 25.
Kelsie said during the first week, the girls got to spend time at Universal Studios.
"We did all the touristy things the first week," she said.
She also said there were some perks of being there with the other 49 contestants.
"We had security guards that basically wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom without telling them, which by the way we were always allowed to cut to the front of," Kelsie said.
Then after the week of seeing the sights, the girls went straight to work and spent hours upon hours rehearsing for the show.
Kelsie said there were some days that were frustrating during the rehearsal week.
"My dress broke during the rehearsal and I ended up having to wear my back up dress which I didn't like as much but I just went with it," Kelsie said.
Kelsie and the other contestants also went through several rounds of preliminaries such as interview, evening wear and swimsuit.
The show aired on television on August 24. The top fifteen contestants were announced and Miss Teen Pennsylvania was not called.
Kelsie said some girls went backstage crying and upset, which she completely understood, but said that she reacted differently.
"I was actually fine when they didn't call my name," Kelsie said. "I had spent time with these girls in California for two weeks, so I was well aware of my competition.
"After they called the top 15, we went backstage and I was just trying to joke with the other girls and make them laugh so they would be okay."
Following the pageant, Kelsie moved back to Pennsylvania and into her dorm at SRU the same weekend that she competed in the competition.
She said she had known since ninth grade that she wanted to come to school at SRU because she knew the university has a good education program.
Her plan after her anticipated graduation in 2011 is to go back and teach at her alma mater, North Hills Senior High School.
She said that she is loving school so far and making a lot of new friends. She is even a fan of SRU's dining halls.
"After preparing for the pageants and not eating good foods for eight weeks, coming to the dining hall buffet is a treat," Kelsie said.
Though successful in her pageant life, Kelsie said she isn't planning on doing any more pageants until she is at least 21 years old, when she will probably take part in the Miss Pennsylvania USA pageant.
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