‘EVERYONE
DESERVES TO BE A
’ PRINCESS
RTE STUDENT AND PAGEANT QUEEN EMPOWERS GIRLS, WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES
by:
Erin Chaffin, ’13
M
ia Bennett, a student in the recreation, tourism & events program at FSU Panama City, believes everyone deserves to be a princess. In 2016, she founded Princesses of Paradise, a pageant that encourages young women with disabilities to feel unique and
beautiful.
AN IDEA IS FORMED At age 12, Mia wanted to be just like her big sister and compete in pageants. She decided to enter Junior Teen Miss Freeport in 2012, and to her surprise, won.
A PAGEANT REDEFINED: Recreation, tourism and events student Mia Bennett is the founder of Princesses of Paradise, a pageant that empowers women and girls with disabilities. Photos courtesy of Duncan Crittenden
18
TORCH
