A Red Deer teenager has picked up her first beauty crown and now she’s heading to Toronto to vie for Miss Teen Canada.
Madison Fertig, 17, was crowned Miss Teen Red Deer during a provincial pageant in Calgary on Jan. 27.
The top 15 girls were crowned, with each one representing a region.
During that weekend, she learned how to stand, walk and sit like a beauty queen.
They modelled a swimsuit in front of judges.
The judges gave them interview questions as well.
Fertig and the rest of the contestants also presented their platform.
Her platform centred on Canadian Blood Services and the need for blood and stem cell donations.
This topic is dear to her heart because her 25-year-old cousin died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a grandmother died of cancer, both last year.
“My (cousin) needed some cell transplants and blood transfusions all the time and I was never old enough to donate for him,” said Fertig.
“So as soon as I turned 17 and weighed 110 pounds, I rushed over and donated with my family.”
Fertig has two younger sisters and her parents are Candy and Allan.
The Miss Teen Canada pageant will take place in July,. It sponsors Free the Children, an international charity and youth movement founded in 1995 by children’s rights advocate Craig Kielburger.
The whole pageant isn’t so much about beauty anymore as it is about charity work, said Fertig.
Fifteen girls from across the country compete in the pageant that will be televised.
The Grade 12 student at Notre Dame High School has enrolled in the bachelor’s degree program in communications at University of Calgary.
Her eventual aim is to go into law school.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com