Sarah Dolina, 17, crowned Miss Teen Norfolk County
A Norfolk girl didn’t take first prize at this weekend’s Miss Teen Ontario pageant in Toronto.
However, Sarah Dolina, 17, of Turkey Point, scored high enough in all categories to advance to this summer’s Miss Teen Canada pageant.
“I look forward to going to the nationals,” Dolina, a Grade 11 student at Simcoe Composite School, said Tuesday. “I will be more prepared by then than I was this weekend.”
Dolina’s moment in the pageant spotlight has come quickly.
In less than two weeks, she applied to the Miss Teen Ontario pageant, was interviewed and accepted to the same, and now – by virtue of this weekend’s strong showing at the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto – has advanced along with 12 others from Ontario to the national competition. A time and a place for the latter have yet to be determined.
Dolina said this weekend’s pageant was a great experience.
“I really liked meeting everyone from so many different areas of the province,” she said. “Everyone was really positive to be around. I also learned something about public speaking. They (pageant organizers) spoke to us about how to address an audience.”
By virtue of her strong showing, Dolina has been bestowed the title of Miss Teen Norfolk County.
A sash proclaiming the designation is being prepared and will be delivered to her when it is ready. Dolina looks forward to wearing the sash and her tiara at assorted events in the local area this summer and at the Norfolk County Fair in October.
“I’m really excited about that,” Dolina said. “I’ve always been jealous of that and have wanted to do it.”
According to the Miss Teen Canada website, the 20 contestants in Toronto this weekend were rated in such areas as “personality, ability to communicate, stage presence, charm, academics, commitment to the community, beauty, fitness and confidence.”
In her speech, Dolina spoke about body positivity and the importance of young women accepting themselves for who they are. Her speech emphasized that air-brushed, Photoshopped images of young women in the media are not realistic and – in fact – are damaging to the extent that they undermine the self-confidence and self-esteem of teens right when they need these qualities most.
Dolina also spoke about perseverance in the face of adversity, drawing on her experience last fall of losing her father – David Dolina, 57 – in a car crash near Hagersville. Her message to the audience in Toronto this weekend is that life goes on after tragedy and good things will happen when you make the effort.