Pageant News Bureau - Miss Teen USA 2002, Page 7

So much to see

Katrina Siddoway is a girl from God's country. She was born and raised in Idaho, and for a time she lived in spectacular Jackson Hole, Wyo. She's seen such broad vistas, such spectacular landscapes, "I used to think the West was the whole world."

Then she became a model and spent some time in New York. "It opened my eyes," she says, "I loved it." She discovered that the Big Apple, in its own way, was as beautiful and awe-inspiring as the Rockies.

Photos courtesy of Katrina Siddoway

But it wasn't perfect. "I missed the stars in the night sky," she says. You can bag bagels and ship them to cowboy country, but you can't give New Yorkers the glory of a Western night unless you shut off all those lights.

Back in Idaho, Ms. Siddoway got busy preparing to become a teacher. Life generally isn't as complicated for a youngster in Boise as it is in Brooklyn or Boston, but kids everywhere have problems. And she wanted to help.

But then she decided to compete for Miss Idaho Teen USA. Then she changed her mind. Then she changed her mind again. Finally, she got up there and gave it a try, and she won.

Now, she has a chance to divide her life between Idaho and New York and . . . the USA. That would be fun. In a romantic movie, a girl has to choose. But this is real life. Who says she can't have it all?

Photos courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP

She'll make you smile

Amber Ross is a Manhattan girl, but she's no New Yorker. Her Manhattan is a town in Kansas, and she's Miss Kansas Teen USA.

If you searched either Manhattan, uptown and down, you wouldn't find many girls as eye-catching as she is. And she's fun to talk to. There's nothing phony about her.

Ms. Ross is "a big cartoon fan," she says, and how many girls her age would tell you that? Laughter is the spice of her life, and comedy is her favorite form of entertainment. If she jumps from occasional modeling into full-fledged show business, a role on a sitcom would be her dream.

A lot of people are already trying to get her into show business. Back home, she's always being "discovered" by somebody. In fact, it was a woman who saw her cheerleading who suggested she get into pageants. Good call.

In her brief time in the pageant world, Ms. Ross has been pleasantly surprised. "I thought it would be a lot of hard work," she says, "but it's so much fun."

It wouldn't be nearly as much fun without her.

Easy rider

Most of the Miss Teen USA contestants are getting their first taste of South Padre Island. But Joy Cometti was here during the summer.

It was pretty hot on the island, says Miss Oklahoma Teen USA, but it was a lot of fun. Now, as she faces her 50 rivals, she's experiencing a different kind of heat, the heat of competition. And it's a different kind of fun, the fun of knowing your whole life could change in an instant.

Ms. Cometti will be ready if something big happens. As a former "tomboy," she seems pretty unflappable, and very practical. While playing co-ed softball, she learned to compete against some intimidating opponents, and she learned to cultivate her own strengths.

She has already competed in pageants in two states, Oklahoma and Texas, but she's still a virtual newcomer to the business. And having done a bit of modeling, Ms. Cometti is considering becoming a fashion photographer if she stays in the glamour business. It's that practical side again.

If she doesn't win Miss Teen USA, she won't mope. She will head back to Oklahoma and start training with a quarter horse to get into barrel racing. That's a rodeo event for young women, and it's something she has always wanted to try it. Her eventual goal is to become a veterinarian specializing in horses.

So you see, Ms. Cometti doesn't "need" to be Miss Teen USA to make her life complete. But if she wins, she will give it her all. She will make you proud.

Photos courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP

August 2002South Padre Island, Texas

So much to see

She'll make you smile

Easy rider

August 2002
South Padre Island, Texas