STORY & PHOTOS BY CARL MIZE
One year after being crowned Miss Statesville’s Teen, Kamryn Hollowell is headed to Florida for the America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant.
Hollowell was named Miss North Carolina Outstanding Teen in June, earning a spot in the national competition, which is scheduled for December 31-January 4 in Orlando. The Outstanding Teen pageant is an offshoot of the iconic Miss America Pageant, which will be held at the same time.
First held in 2005, the Teen pageant is geared towards contestants 13 -18 and serves as a feeder program to the Miss America competition. Contestants may compete multiple times at the state level to earn the right to compete on the national stage.
“I’m so excited as I have dreamed of this since I was eight years old,” Hollowell said.
A junior at Corinth Holders High School, she is dually enrolled at Johnston Community College.
Since winning the state title, Hollowell has been traversing the state carrying the message of her Community Service Initiative, which is Project Purple: IBD and Ulcerative Colitis research. Her mother suffers from the disease.
In her advocacy work, Hollowell has been able to work with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundations in the Carolinas and San Diego area. She has helped to raise over $5000 for further research.
She has also been afforded the opportunity to speak with legislators on both the state and national level in regard to the issues that people suffering from the disease face in their daily life.
Hollowell hopes that her message will have a national platform if she is fortunate enough to be crowned America’s Outstanding Teen.
In addition to their individual community service initiatives, contestants are judged in the areas of interview, physical fitness, evening gown, and one of Kamryn’s favorite parts, talent.
Hollowell’s eyes light up when she explains that she will be the only clogger, which is North Carolina’s state dance, among the national finalists.
She will perform a routine to Fire Under My Feet by Leona Lewis. It is a special arrangement that was customized for Hollowell by former Miss North Carolina, Hailey Best Wade, and her husband Andrew.
Hollowell leaves for Orlando on Thursday. She will meet up with her sister queen, Miss North Carolina Carrie Everette, who is competing for Miss America, during the same week.
Her first onstage appearance will be December 31 in the evening gown portion and her talent will be presented to the judges on the evening of January 2.
And if all goes as planned, she will go through the whole thing again on January 4 during the finals.
Hollowell is in an unusual position because North Carolina’s Hanley House took the national crown last year.
While certainly not impossible, repeat victories are rare.
When asked how she feels about this, Hollowell said, “I believe I offer a new skill set. Just because Hanley won last year does not mean that we can’t go back to back. I’m interested in preserving the legacy of how well North Carolina has done.”