YOUR COMMUNITY
By Katie Loudermilk Roberts
Naples Student Talks About Pageant Life
Photo by The Painted Boxx Photography
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welve-year-old Ana Vlad of Naples competes regularly in beauty pageants, most recently for the title of Miss Pre Teen International of 2020 in Kingsport, Tenn., in late July. The Community School of Naples 8th grader qualified for this pageant by capturing the Miss Pre Teen Florida International of 2020 crown. Vlad uses her social platform to promote interest in volunteering and uplifting her generation. Neapolitan Family talked with Vlad about life in the beauty pageant world. How do you use your platform as a beauty pageant contestant to help the community? Volunteering in general is something I am very passionate about. I have volunteered with the Humane Society, where I played with the cats to prepare them for their future homes. I also read to a second grade class, and I am working on getting my SCUBA certification to work with coral reef restorations. Through my Instagram account, I post short videos on my story called Motivation Mondays. Each week I share an inspiring quote and then talk about what it means to me. I encourage people to spread kindness in the world. This world is changing a lot, so I want to shed some light into everyone’s lives. I think it is important to focus on even the smallest acts of kindness because those can make a difference.
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What have you gained over the years from participating in beauty pageants? I have met a lot of girls and built friendships with them. We have group chats on Instagram to talk about projects we are working on and upcoming beauty pageants. Beauty pageants are focused a lot on intelligence, not just beauty. I love learning about new things at each pageant, and it has helped me grow a lot as a person. My mom got me involved [in pageants] when I was 7. She and my cousin have helped me a lot over the years to become the better version of myself each day. I will be trying out for the Miss Junior High in Naples in 2021. I won the title of Little Miss Fort Myers and was runner up for Little Miss Florida at the age of 7. You recently started a website, Power of One, powerofone.club. How does this help with giving back to the community? The main message of the Power of One is that anyone can make a difference no matter how old they are. I made a love pledge for Camp Power One that will not only inspire kids but be intriguing to parents. Kids are the future, but parents can make a difference, too. I created the website so that I could become a mentor for school-aged kids to be socially conscious: to cultivate compassion, empathy, kindness and tolerance; to be eager to volunteer and get involved; to make a difference; and to create a better world. This project also has helped me understand that the desire to make a difference must be instilled in children early on. This will help them feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment while helping to build character traits of courage, caring, and achievement. All these traits are taught through the simple rules: be positive, be kind, and do good.
NEAPOLITANfamily • August 2020
