A Putnam County student has brought home the title of America's National Teenager.
Lindsey Beane, a 17-year-old from Hurricane, took home the crown at the America's National Teenager Scholarship Organization's national competition in Atlanta at the beginning of August.
Beane performed her first pageant when she was 12 years old, and has done a few each year since then.
"My first pageant was five years ago, and I'm really happy that I'm ending my pageant career in the ANTSO organization because of all it stands for," Beane said. "I'm very excited to be America's National Teenager."
Her favorite part about the America's National Teenager Scholarship Organization is that nearly 70 percent of the scoring is based on personal qualities rather than stage presence.
The judges calculate the score from: 30 percent interview, 15 percent evening gown, 15 percent personal expression, 15 percent academics, 15 percent extracurricular activities and 10 percent from an onstage question.
On the organization's website, it says the pageant focuses on real teenagers, and does not have a mandatory swimsuit or talent competition. For the personal expression portion of the pageant, the contestants must decorate a pair of basic blue jeans to express themselves.
For Beane, she had planned on embroidering the jeans but panicked when she found out she couldn't embroider them. So, Beane and her mother ran to the mall to get the jeans airbrushed.
Beane's personal platform focuses on empowering people with disabilities, which coincides with the organization's national philanthropy, the Miss Amazing Pageant. The Miss Amazing Pageant is a competition held for girls with disabilities in over 30 states. As America's National Teenager, Beane will get to attend the Miss Amazing Pageant in Chicago.
Beane has a good friend with developmental disabilities, and said she's thankful she's been able to promote a platform close to her heart.
"Through pageants I've been able to have a voice and spread awareness about this issues that's really concerning," Beane said.
Her platform, Defy Disability: Put People First, focuses on spreading awareness that people are not their disabilities.
"If you didn't know a person's name, you would say that boy or girl. There's no need to put autistic boy in the sentence -- he's not defined as that," Beane said.
Beane will hold the title of America's National Teenager for 17 months, until the next national competition in Houston, Texas, next November.
During her reign as America's National Teenager, she will focus on promoting her platform in the community.
At the end of her service, Beane will get a scholarship for her college education, but she will not find out the amount until the end of her time as titleholder.
Beane said she encourages young girls to compete in pageants due to the friends she's made and giving her a medium to promote her personal platform.
"I've made so many new friends nationwide," Beane said. "I think great opportunities can come out of pageantry."
Reach Laura Haight at laura.haight@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @laurahaight_ on Twitter.