After winning Miss Washington Junior Teen in August, 16-year-old Claire Wright recently represented Washington state as she competed in the national pageant competition, finishing in the top 10.
Wright said she started doing pageants in seventh grade after being bullied in some of her regular activities. In her very first pageant, she finished in the top 15. It was a perfect fit.
“The pageant system I’m in works closely with USA and Miss America, so this is the biggest pageant system for girls my age,” said Wright, who lives in Sammamish and is a sophomore at Eastside Catholic School.
The National America Miss Pageant was held in Anaheim, Calif. Wright said it was an amazing experience, and she enjoyed meeting so many girls from all over the nation.
Pageant participants are judged based on categories, including a personal introduction, an interview and formal wear. In place of a talent, participants are able to choose from five different options, ranging from modeling to acting. Wright chose to compete in the spokesmodel competition, where she talked about the dangers of texting while driving. With that speech, Wright ended up placing fifth in her category.
And while public speaking may be horrifying to some, Wright loves it.
“I want to be a broadcast journalist,” she said. “So it’s pretty easy for me to get up and talk to people.”
The interview, on the other hand, is a different story. Wright said she has a harder time talking one on one with a judge, especially without knowing what to expect.
“I never know what they’re going to ask me, so I can’t prepare,” she said.
As far as future plans? It sounds like Wright knows what she wants.
“I’m very interested in Pepperdine University,” she said. “Hopefully one day I will be on a national news show like Good Morning America or The Today Show.”
Wright said her family is her biggest support system, with her mom coming to all of her pageants to help her prepare.
“She’s totally there, the entire time supporting me,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without her.”
With two more years of high school looming, Wright has some time to prepare for whatever lies ahead. For now, she is thankful for the opportunities she has been given and said she wants to enjoy her reign as Miss Washington Junior Teen.
Wright will continue to make appearances, deliver speeches and volunteer in the community until August when she travels back to the Miss Washington Junior Teen competition to crown her successor. She is also a class president of the National Charity League’s Sammamish chapter, a member of her school’s leadership program and will be starting lacrosse for the first time in February. She prides herself on maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
