Her main goal is to win Miss Teen Beauty International.
If not, Kassidy Kleef won’t be discouraged.
The 17-year-old Armstrong hopes to continue on in the pageant world, even if she doesn’t win in La Romana, Dominican Republic, starting April 5.
“If I don’t win, I want to go there next year and speak about my experiences with bullying, how I’ve overcome it and want to help other people,” said Kleef, a Grade 12 student at Vernon’s W.L. Seaton Secondary.
Kleef currently holds the titles of Miss Teen Western British Columbia, Miss Teen Canada second princess and Miss Teen Canadian Beauty International, titles she claimed in 2014 at a pageant in Toronto.
“Pageantry has always been a dream of mine,” said Kleef. “I love getting to promote inner beauty and confidence.”
She is also dedicated to helping put an end to bullying, something Kleef said she has dealt with a lot in her life. She wrote a monologue about her bullying experiences for Toronto which helped her advance in the pageant.
“I believe in beauty with a purpose,” she said while wearing a pink shirt on anti-bullying day. “I believe in the empowerment of young females. And I believe in living life to its fullest, being the best ‘you’ and doing one good deed at a time.”
Kleef has been doing a lot of training for Miss Teen Beauty International in the Dominican Republic.
She is debating whether to do another monologue on bullying or do a lyrical dance number to Beyoncé’s Pretty Hurts.
Kleef will fly to Toronto April 1 for a few days of final training before heading to the Dominican, where contestants will spend some time at a local orphanage, be entertained at a welcome dinner, then compete in a preliminary pageant to see who makes it to the actual final competition.
Since winning her pageant titles, Kleef says life has changed.
“I’ve been doing a lot more volunteer work and I got to drop a puck at a Vernon Vipers home game,” she said. “I was walking around the arena and little girls were coming up to me and saying ‘oh my gosh, a princess.’ It was the sweetest thing. I’ve just had the greatest experience ever.”
A move to Vancouver upon graduation to work, then enroll in an acting program at Langara College, is in Kleef’s future after the international pageant. She has received tremendous support from her mom, Janice, her grandmother, Thelma Hughes, and from two communities where she lives and goes to school.
Victoria Lane Bridal in Vernon has helped Kleef with dresses, and Armstrong’s Monashee Wellness Centre and Shoe Emporium have helped with footwear for the pageant.
Kleef is trying to raise her airfare for the trip to the Dominican Republic. She has held a bottle drive to try and raise funds, and, if anybody wishes to help, a donation can be made at gofundme.com/jodqvo.
