By Jessi McIntosh
Three Ruston girls — Averie Moon, Melissa Le and Catherine Williams — will compete in the Miss Louisiana Teen Pageant taking place next month.
Moon is currently the Miss Spirit of the Reds Teen. Le currently holds the title of Miss Louisiana Watermelon Festival’s Teen. Williams is Miss Union Parish’s Teen 2023.
Williams, Le and Moon are not newcomers to the pageant scene and use their experiences for personal growth and development.
“At Miss Louisiana’s Teen Competition, being surrounded by driven, community-minded, intelligent young women empowered me to improve myself,” said Le. “The confidence that you earn from being with a young woman similar to you and being able to be onstage speaking about what you are passionate about and performing your talent is empowering.”
Competing in pageants such as Miss Teen Louisiana can have various positive outcomes such as confidence, growth, community involvement, networking opportunities, platforms, scholarships, personal achievement and more, Williams said.
“Serving as Miss Union Parish’s Teen, I had the privilege to cater to the state champion Union Parish Football Team, support the Farmerville Fire Department with their ‘Christmas Joy’ project, and collaborate with my forever sister queen, Hannah Reeder, Miss Spirit of Fasching, to organize arts and crafts at the Wish I Could Foundation’s Christmas Party,” said Williams.
Additionally, these three girls also juggle life outside of pageants including academics, extracurriculars, clubs and hobbies. Williams attends Cedar Creek School where she is an Emerald Entertainer and a member of the powerlifting team, cornhole club, drama club, DECA, FCA and YoungLife. Outside of Cedar Creek Williams is involved with Rock Steady Boxing for Parkinson’s at Louisiana Tech and is a member of the Ruston Community Theater Youth Council.
Moon is an All-American cheerleader who also sings for First Baptist Church in Farmerville.
“The Miss Louisiana Organization has given me opportunities to do with my daily life,” said Moon. “I have gotten to do photoshoots, community service, and go to other events in Louisiana. With my academic life, I have seen my grades better this year than before, as I joined the National Junior Honor Society this year at my school.”
Le is a sophomore at Ruston High School and is taking dual classes Louisiana Tech. At Ruston High, Le is a part of the swimming team, National Honors Society, Student Council, speech and debate team and FBLA. Le is also a Junior Co-Chair on the National Girls Collaborative Project’s STEM Youth Advisory Board.
Balancing personal life with pageant life can be challenging, as pageants often require a significant time commitment and dedication, but these girls are skilled in time management and make it possible to find a balance.
“I have learned that the most effective way to manage my time is through prioritization,” said Le. “Ever since I was younger, I have loved to multitask. As I became more involved, I realized that to get everything done, I would have to prioritize my responsibilities accordingly.”
Additionally, if crowned Miss Louisiana Teen, Le, Moon and Williams plan to do various things with their title. “If crowned the next Miss Louisiana Teen, I want to share my own personal Community Service Initiative, K.I.N.D. which stands for Kids in Nice Deeds, promoting kindness through nice deeds in kids,” said Moon. “With this innovation I have created, I want to share the importance of kindness through nice deeds in kids and how their one nice deed can make a huge impact on someone else.”
Moon chose the audience of kids because she wants to teach the next generation about the impact kind words and actions have on other people.
Williams said if she is crowned Miss Louisiana’s Teen, her top priority would be to focus on her community service initiative, Rock Steady Boxing for Parkinson’s.
“This organization holds special significance for me, as my papaw was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2014,” she said.
Le said if she wins the title, she will work at the state level to increase STEM extracurricular activities.
“I would continue to advocate and speak about the importance of STEM and call for more STEM clubs and events at the community and state levels,” said Le.
The pageant will take place April 6-7 at the University of Louisiana-Monroe’s Brown Auditorium.
