Update as Miss Teenage Canada 2022!

Hi everyone! Wow, it is already November!

Here is what I have been up to since being crowned Miss Teenage Canada 2022!

After a few days of resting after the long pageant week filled with hard work, I was approached with the opportunity to be featured in many newspapers and online articles! This is always a blast since I love being interviewed and photographed.

Then, I attended the Toronto CNE wearing my newly won crown and sash and talking to individuals about my title and platform. Here I enjoyed many cultural booths, and got to experience the love from cultures that have large pageant fan bases!

From September 16-18, I had the pleasure of rehearsing, having fittings and then walking in the IPEN 35th anniversary and Renee Salud fashion show! This was such an honour since Renee Salud is one of Asia’s fashion icons. During this time, I was able to meet the IPEN beauties, who are so lovely and kind.
On October 10th, I attended my community local fair- the Norfolk County Fair. I had a wonderful time meeting new people within my community and of course supporting some local shops and boutiques. I got to show my extra appreciation for Norfolk County’s diverse agriculture, animals, amazing food and wonderful people!

During these couple of months, I had the opportunity to do some travelling with my family. First I went to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; here I was amazed by the beautiful sights and really appreciated the time spent with my family. I also kept up with my physical activity! Recently, I went to the Dominican Republic and soaked up the sun and warmth as winter is now approaching Canada! I am so thankful I am able to travel and learn new life experiences on these trips- to me, this is irreplaceable.

In November, I had the opportunity to model for the launch of La Coutts handbags. These bags are both stylish and functional! This beautiful event was held at one of Canada’s most famous courses, the Glen Abbey golf course, which is known for holding 30 Canadian Open Championships!

 

Now one of my most recent accomplishments, I was awarded with my grade 11 honours academic award.  This was so rewarding because I always stay dedicated to my academics and worked extremely hard to achieve an 80% or above to qualify for the honour roll.

Remember to follow allow with my social media to stay updated- @missteenagecanada2022 (on Instagram)
I am so grateful I have new, wonderful opportunities and privileges as Miss Teenage Canada! These first few months have been absolutely incredible and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!
With Love,
Aalanna Rusnak, Miss Teenage Canada 2022
0 COMMENTS

The New Miss Teenage Canada 2022, Aalanna Rusnak

Hello everyone, my name is Aalanna Rusnak! I am your new Miss Teenage Canada 2022!!! 

Since this is my very first blog as Miss Teenage Canada 2022, I would like to reflect on the journey that got me here. Often I think about the moment I was crowned, and I am filled with happiness. The thoughts that follow after are the countless hours of hard work it took for me to get the crown and title I dreamed of. Although this was a difficult journey that required a large amount of work, the title at the end of the finish line made it all worth it. Any good thing in life takes work!

I would like everyone to get to know me a little bit, I am 17 years old and a competitive figure skater. I have been skating since I was six years old, so skating is a big part of my life. Skating has taught me to be dedicated and to persevere through any challenges I may face. I know I will apply this positive mindset as Miss Teenage Canada. My platform is overall mental wellness and self-love for all. I am passionate about this topic and enjoy speaking about it and advocating for it. I love public speaking. Public speaking is something I have always been interested in, and it is my main way of promoting my platform. As Miss Teenage Canada I will be travelling to elementary schools to speak to children about my platform. I have already done this with my previous title, Miss Teenage Ontario Southwest. My main goal with this platform is to let everyone know that they are beautiful in their own, unique way and they deserve to feel confident in their own skin.

If you or anyone you know would be interested in having me attend to speak at a school or event, please contact me through my email (missteencanada@yahoo.com) or social media,

Instagram (main account) : aalannarusnak

Instagram (pageant account) : missteenagecanada22

Facebook: Aalanna Rusnak

Don’t forget to give those a follow for more updates!

I cannot wait to see what this year has in store, I know the journey will be amazing. More blogs to come! 

Thank you all!

 

0 COMMENTS

My Journey to the Crown: Jacklynn Bowdery- MTC 2021

Hello everyone, my name is Jacklynn Bowdery and I am your new Miss Teenage Canada 2021! I am sorry this is a few months late but, better late than never!

This whole experience has been for a better lack of terms, crazy, but I am thankful for every minute of it. Throughout the pageant week, I got to meet and bond with 38 incredible teens from across the nation. I now call these ladies my friends; thank you all for showing me so much kindness.

To be completely honest, I never expected to win or even get as far as top 20 because Miss Teenage Canada was my first national pageant. All the other ladies I competed with were amazing and it was hard to think only one of us was going to win the crown. Yet, here we are.

Fun Fact: in the crowning video where I was announced as the new Miss Teenage Canada 2021, you can actually see me shake my head from the great amount of shock and excitement in that moment. (You can check out the video on both @Missteenagecanada Instagram & Facebook pages)

Enough about my crowning, let’s get into my experience at the pageant, starting with provincials!

The provincial pageant was a two day event. On the first day, we were split into two groups to maintain social distancing. I ended up being in group two. When my group arrived, we were greeted by Miss Teenage Canada 2020, Joanne Shao, Miss World Canada 2018, Hannah Begovic, and Michelle who is the national director. We were trained in both communication and walking for about three hours and then we were sent off to our rooms for the rest of the night. On the second day we had our personal interview with the judges and the crowning of the new Miss Teenage Ontario.

To my surprise, I was crowned Miss Teenage Ontario 2021 and qualified for nationals! Going into the Miss Teenage Ontario pageant I was a nervous wreck!

Driving to the pageant I was afraid that the other girls weren’t going to talk to me but they all ended up being the sweetest people ever. I ended up creating so many close bonds with the girls and we made lots of fun memories.

Originally, I was not going to enter into this pageant because in all honestly, I didn’t want to do it but after LOTS of convincing from both my mom and sister, I applied and I am so glad I did.

Since I entered last minute, my sister helped me prepare and I actually wore her old prom dress for the gown portion of the competition.

Nationals came so quickly and I was both nervous and excited for the week to begin.

This was how our week went:

  • Day one we got paired with our roommates. I was rooming with Miss Teenage Manitoba, Tatiana Van Heer, and we instantly clicked. We were welcomed with a pajama party where we sang karaoke, took photos at the photo booth, and had dinner and dessert. We were also gifted with MTC merchandise, jewelry, curling iron, and much more!

  • Day two we had our official photo and video shoot. We all had so much fun in front of the camera and felt like supermodel’s.

  • Day three we had our activity day! We went tree top trekking, zip lining, swimming, and at the end of the day had a campfire. Activity day was probably my favourite day because we all got to know each other a lot better and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

  • Day four was the preliminary competition. This included interview, athletic wear, and evening gown. I was very nervous, especially for my interview but it all turned out better than I expected. Everyone looked amazing in their gowns and active wear!

  • Day five we had rehearsals all day and talent night. I actually began to cry with a few other girls because it was our last night with each other and we didn’t want it to end.

  • Day six was the Miss Teenage Canada finals.

My experience throughout the Miss Teenage Canada pageant week was amazing. I had so much fun that I actually forgot we were all competing in a pageant. Thank you Pageant Group Canada for organizing such an incredible week!

I just wanted to quickly thank the following: Paola Ortiz for doing our make up and Modern College for doing our hair, Flash Art Studio for taking our official photos and Genesis Multimedia for our video shoot + bts, Kenny Ladaga for my beautiful finals gown, Zvonko for taking my official MTC headshots, Marc Gagnon and Hannah Begovic for chaperoning me and the other girls, and finally my IPEN family.

The first few months of my reign have been filled with so much happiness, excitement, and love.  My family, friends, and the pageant community has showed me so much support and I am so forever grateful for all of you.

I cannot wait to share this incredible experience with all of you!!

Stay tuned for more blogs to come!

Jacklynn Bowdery, Miss Teenage Canada 2021

0 COMMENTS

To my successor…

To my successor…

The feeling of my reign ending is quite bittersweet. I am sad about my reign ending, but so happy about everything I got to accomplish, as well as how much I grew as an individual. You are in for the ride of a lifetime, and you will be given so many opportunities! You will have people supporting you from day 1, and people to guide you through this journey. I know you will do such great things with your reign, and know that there’s a reason you got the crown and title. You are beautiful, intelligent, kind, caring and so much more. You can do it, I believe in you ♥♥

Love always, Joanne Shao

0 COMMENTS

Prelims + Rehersals!

Last night was the preliminary round and I had so much fun! I was wearing a gorgeous gown from Bells and Bows Bridal Boutique and had my hair done by Ms.Sarah from Modern College! I had the opportunity to host the preliminary round and all the girls did absolutely fantastic. I am so proud of each and every one of them!

Today, the ladies did a mini runway lesson with the fabulous Marc and Hanna in the morning. Then the ladies rehearsed all day today with Shawn, and I can’t wait for everyone to see the opening number and the fitness dance segment. In the evening, we watched talent and each performance was amazing!! There’s only a day left until the new Miss Teenage Canada is crowned, and this feeling is bittersweet. I am a little sad my reign is over, but so excited to see what’s in store next!

0 COMMENTS

First day at Miss Teenage Canada 2021!

Today was my first day meeting all the delegates for Miss Teenage Canada 2021! I got to only speak with a few girls, but I’m excited to learn more about each and every one of them. I arrived around dinner time and then met my roommate for the rest of the week! Then we went to a campfire and dang, sang, and had so so much fun! Then the night came to a close and we are now back in the room, but I’m so excited for prelims tomorrow!

Talk to you guys soon <3

Joanne Shao

0 COMMENTS

Canada Day

I would like to begin by acknowledging the land on which we gather, and which the Region of Peel operates, is part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. Specifically, the land on which I reside on was part of the lands included in Treaty 19.

There has been lots of circulation around Cancelling Canada Day to stand in solidarity with our Indigenous community. It doesn’t mean we want to cancel all the contributions Canada has made. As the daughter of immigrants, I understand wanting to celebrate a country that has granted opportunities and safety that their home country may not have been able to give many. But with all the news and recent discoveries of what happened to children in residential schools, I believe it’s much more important to be able to show that we are there alongside them, and want to support them in any way we can.

We’ve all learnt about Residental school treatment in history class and have always known about the history of injustive treatment towards our Indigeous community. But now having this evidence come to light, is just further proof of our oppresive system. We need to amlify Indigenous voices, listen to their stories and feel the discomfort. We should learn about their culture, who’s land you currently reside on, donate, support Indigeous creators, and have uncomfortable conversations. Those are only the few ways you can help.

0 COMMENTS

What we can do as non-indigenous people

It was just announced today that 751 unmarked graves (likely belonging to children) were found at a residential school in Saskatchewan. This makes it 1323 children and counting. Only a few residential schools were searched, imagine if all of them were. We think that it’s in the past, but Indigenous people still suffer from personal, intergenerational trauma and systemic oppression.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report was published over 6 years ago, outlining 94 Calls To Action to bridge the systemic gaps that Indigenous people face. We have yet to see much action by our elected officials. It’s in our hands to take action now.

So what can you do? Educate yourself. Learn about who’s land you live on. You can find this out here. Read about the Truth and Reconciliation Reports, learn the Call To Actions. Have uncomfortable conversations with family and friends. Use social media to teach others and learn. Don’t make it performative to fit in. Actually learn about all of this. It’s the least we can do for the Indigenous community as we stand in solidarity with them.

0 COMMENTS

Miss Teenage Ontario Provincials 2021

Last night was the Teenage Ontario Pageant. I can’t believe that about a year ago, I was in these girls’ shoes, and it feels like just yesterday! It went by so fast, and it makes me so excited for nationals week!! 

20 crowns were given out last night. But to all the girls, I’m so proud of all of you! It takes guts to be able to walk on stage, as well as recite your platform speech. If you didn’t get a crown, it doesn’t mean your journey just has to end now. I know multiple ladies who didn’t qualify the first time, and then the next time they tried they did! It just takes some perseverance. And to the ladies who did get a crown, I hope to see you in August! 

I got to see the beautiful Svetlana, our Miss World Canada,  Alice, who is this year’s Miss Supranational China, and Krissy, our Miss Teenage Ontario 2020. I also got to meet the gorgeous Hanna who was the choreographer of the weekend. And who could forget Paola, who owns Paola’s beauty bar? This weekend was a blast and thank you to Michelle for letting me come <3

0 COMMENTS

Canada is not innocent

A few days ago a Muslim family was on a stroll when they were hit by a motorist just for being Muslim. The only survivor is a 9-year old boy. He suffered serious injuries but lived, just to wake up to see that he had lost all his family. This was a targeted hate crime.

We look at the US and believe that Canada is so much better than the US, but the fact is we really aren’t. But we can not deny the fact that there are hate crimes happening, racism still exists, there are still First Nations reserves without clean water, and so much more that is wrong. It’s sometimes hard being a minority living in Canada, and thankfully I haven’t yet been targeted just for being Asian, but I know many friends who have.

We can not tolerate any acts of violence, hatred, racism or bigotry towards anyone, no matter what race you may be. Below is the link to a go fund me in support of this family who was the target of this hate crime as well as an article with more details. Sending love and condolences to the 9-year-old boy and the entire family. May we someday come to a place where we can all live peacefully without violence and hatred.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/salman-family-accident-relief

https://globalnews.ca/news/7930240/london-ontario-family-killed-identified-mosque-host-vigil/

0 COMMENTS