Junior Brenda Smith-Lezama will represent Missouri in the Miss Teen USA pageant on Aug. 10.

Originally from Georgia, Smith-Lezama said she competed in pageants throughout high school and won her division all four years. The competitions were like a rite of passage, she said.

“All of the girls do it, all of my friends were doing it — I figured it would be a fun time,” Smith-Lezama said. “And once I got on that stage, I felt so nervous, but I realized afterwards that I had such a boost of confidence.”

Smith-Lezama said she grew through the pageants.

“I went from being a really shy girl that maybe wouldn’t have stepped on a stage or didn’t necessarily want to do that kind of thing to being really outgoing and confident,” Smith-Lezama said. “And that’s the biggest thing that I’ve taken away from pageantry.”

Because of her experience in high school, Smith-Lezama said she decided to pursue higher-level pageants, like Miss Missouri Teen USA.

Smith-Lezama said she had to make sacrifices to become eligible for the competition. She skipped her high school graduation so she could take classes at MU the summer before her freshman year.

“In order to compete in Missouri I had to have finished one semester of college or lived here for six months,” Smith-Lezama said. “So I ended up leaving Georgia much earlier than I expected.”

Miss Teen USA will be held in the Bahamas in early August. Smith-Lezama said she practiced for the competition by attending a pageant boot camp comprised of things like walking classes, makeup classes and mock interviews. She also said she’s preparing on her own by eating healthy and exercising.

But simply building up confidence is the most important thing a contestant can do, Smith-Lezama said. At boot camp, she said her director told the girls how much he loved them and believed in them.

“That little thing makes such a huge difference because at the end of the day it’s not who has the prettiest dress or who has the best walk, it’s about who’s the most confident and who’s the most comfortable and who is the all-around best package,” Smith-Lezama said.

A contestant’s looks aren’t the most important factor, Smith-Lezama said. As a matter of fact, she often uses outfits from her own closet. She said pageant girls don’t need to conform to any supposed norms.

“I competed in Miss Missouri Teen USA — I didn’t have a trainer, I didn’t have a coach, I wore a dress that was $150 that I’d worn for three or four other events — and ended up winning,” Smith-Lezama said. “So that just goes to show that although you think that you need to conform to all these social norms, if you do it your way and you’re confident that’s what’s going to be most important when you’re out there on that stage.”

Whether or not she gains the title of Miss Teen USA, Smith-Lezama said she is happy with the experiences she’s gained through pageantry. Her biggest aspiration is to become a broadcast journalism specialist in the U.S. Air Force, and she said pageants could help her in this career.

“I think giving me the confidence to stand in front of a camera and be comfortable or know that exposure — (plus) the networks I’ve built — is probably what I wanted the most and what I’ve already achieved,” Smith-Lezama said.

But with her focus on pursuing broadcast journalism as a career path, Smith-Lezama’s future in the pageant world remains uncertain for the time being.

“It’s kind of addicting. It’s a really awesome feeling to have so many beautiful people cheering you on and being in your corner,” Smith-Lezama said. “So I think maybe one day I will continue to the Miss division, maybe one day I’ll try to compete for Miss USA, maybe I wont. I don’t know, I’m just taking it day by day.”