Kennedy Todosichuk believes that she can make a difference, and she says that being named Miss Teen Saskatchewan will make it easier to accomplish that goal. The YRHS student is competing in Miss Teen Saskatchewan for the second time in 2013, with the goal of helping people around the world if she gets the title.
Todosichuk first competed in 2011 when she was 15, and she admits that she was not quite prepared for her first go around. She says she might have been a bit too young to do as well as she would have liked. Even so, she received the title of Miss Teen Eastern Saskatchewan, and this time around she hopes to be top in the province.
In order to reach her goal, Todosichuk is going to be much better prepared. She has a coach in Anastasia Sidiropoulou, who was Miss Teen World in 2011, and she says that the experience of the first pageant is going to help her find ways to improve for this year's event.
She also says the most important part of the event is the interview, where the girls speak about themselves and their platform to show what they would like to accomplish in their role.
"They want someone to represent the title of Miss Teen Saskatchewan and eventually Miss Teen Canada to be a really caring person. They have to have a vision and they have to do something with their title, they can't just say they're Miss Teen Canada," she details.
The experience of her first competition was very memorable, Todosichuk says, and she believes this will give her an advantage. She knows what it takes, and knows what her responsibilities will be if she gets the crown. She is also excited to have that experience again, which she says has stuck with her.
"When you actually go to Toronto to nationals, you meet all sorts of cool people, girls from all the different provinces. It's leaders in the making, future politicians and really ambitious people who want to help."
Every Miss Teen competitor has a platform which they use to show why they would be the best candidate for the crown, and Todosichuk is competing under the concept of "Pay it Forward." Inspired by the efforts to establish a splash park in Canora, Todosichuk says she wants the idea of "Pay it Forward" to become prioritized outside of this area.
"If you do something nice for someone, they're going to feel special, and they're going to do something nice for someone else... It spreads kindness for people throughout the world."
Todosichuk is competing for more than just the crown, but for a cause as well. She says that she wants to use the title to hold events, raise money, and talk to people about Free the Children, which builds schools in Africa and helps free children from child slavery. She says that the charity is a big part of Miss Teen, and that she has been inspired by the work they do to help children.
"It's amazing what they do. Two years ago they built the first all-girls secondary school in Kenya," Todosichuk says.
Miss Teen is something that Todosichuk believes has been pushing her to be a better person in her day-to-day life, and she says that the experiences and values from the competition will have long-lasting effects for her future.
"When you see something that's wrong or that you want to change, Miss Teen Canada forces you to take a step and try to do that. When you move on to bigger things in life, you already have that drive. It also puts your foot in the door for modeling agencies as well," Todosichuk says.
The competition portion of Miss Teen Saskatchewan will on February 24.
