We have all heard it before. That girl is a "pageant girl". What does that even mean? It means she puts on makeup, does her hair nice and wears beautiful clothes to many people. But for Kendall Rivers, the reigning USA National Miss SC PreTeen, there are more important things in life. Like charity.

Rivers is an active supporter of USA National Miss The Crown C.A.R.E.S. Creating A Respectful Environment in Schools - "I’ve been able to help students in my school understand how important it is to treat everyone with respect. With the Crown Cares we can stand up to bullies together and be unstoppable" she explained.

Kendall also volunteers every Tuesday night at The Soup Kitchen - "I raise money for children hospital, I visit the nursing homes, collect food for those in need and I volunteer at the day care!"

Did you know ? USA National Miss is a fashion-forward, national pageant organization that exists to enrich the lives of young women ages 4-25 through an unsurpassed pageant experience. Awarding close to a million dollars since its inception in cash, college scholarships, and prizes, as well as assisting young women in developing a lifestyle of service, we also provide them with extraordinary opportunities. Our program recognizes the personal achievement, community involvement and excellence of young women across the USA in a fun and trendy community of sisters, who become ambassadors of many worthy causes and charities.

The most effective way to prepare your mind to win a pageant or competition is to embrace your uniqueness and do something different. This will make you even more memorable and allow you to be authentic to yourself and showcase your personality. Understanding what makes you unique and what gifts you have to offer allow you to embrace yourself on this journey through the world of perceived competition.

The beautiful Jordan Lyndsay Millette, who'll be representing Alabama in Miss United States 2018, is fortunate to be surrounded by an amazing team that is helping her prepare herself mind, body, and spirit for the national pageant - "The primary step I am taking to prepare for the contest is simply maintaining a positive spirit and gratitude for this opportunity. The unique characteristics I bring to the competition are my professional experience and acumen. I am self-motivated, self-directed, I know where I want to be, and I know exactly how to get there in my career" - she explained.

The 2018 Miss United States contest will be headed back to the Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate from July 2-7, 2018. Let's know a little more about Jordan's story and her journey to the crown through this interview!

The National American Miss pageant has a reputation for being a “natural” pageant. Its motto? “Growing girls’ confidence.” The contest promotes valuable life skills as well – it provided the opportunity to practice interviewing, go out into the community to ask for sponsors, and improve my public speaking skills. The possibility of scholarships certainly added an extra incentive. 

As the reigning National All-American Miss Teen Serena Sammons serves as one of the twelve national representatives for the organization. Along with her others sisters queens, they use their titles to promote the system and their motto of “Growing Confidence.” They also use their time to give back to their communities through volunteer work and their program of NAM Serves - "So far this year, I have volunteered with my local theatre, the California Miss Amazing Pageant, and Make-A-Wish OCIE. I also get to go on a little “Summer Tour” when I finish up school this June where I will be attending a number of state pageants as visiting royalty. I’m super excited to finish up school just because I absolutely cannot wait to visit these state pageants and meet all of the amazing contestants" - she explained.

After the summer tour finishes, Serena will be in the homestretch for NAM Nationals 2018 where she’ll be crowning her successor. "It’s almost bittersweet thinking about it but luckily I still have about six months until then!"

Depression and anxiety are one of the youth's main problems of today. And Jess Turunen wants people to know that it is a real sickness and it affects people in many different ways. She believes that one of the most fundamental knowledge is how to manage our own mind and emotions, and this isn't something taught in schools but eventually learned through searching and experience. 

Jess is aligning with the local Australian charity LIVIN. LIVIN was founded in honour of Dwayne Lally who like many others took his life after suffering in silence from a mental illness.

Turunen loves to help others, and she is fascinated by the study of human behaviour - "I recently ceased my 12 year long career in hair and makeup to pursue my dream of becoming a life coach. So coaching and neuro-linguistic programming is the perfect fit for me" - she explained.

In addition to being a beauty queen Jess Turunen is a wife and mom of two little boys - "I felt that at times I had lost a part of myself as I had very little hobbies and interests outside of my family. I entered into Mrs Australia Continents competition, and low and behold - I won! I can't imagine my life any other way now, and my kids love that I am a queen."

Lets know a little more about Jess' story and her journey to the crown of Mrs Continents 2018 through this interview! 

There's nothing quite like helping others for making you feel good about yourself. Getting involved in community service projects can build your self-confidence while you improve the world around you. 

Some community service opportunities require an ongoing commitment while others are one-time events. Once you've decided how much time you can give, one way to decide on a project is to decide what issues are most important to you. 

The beautiful Dexonna Talbot, who'll be competing for the crown of Miss Utah 2018, launched her own platform called Servesteem: increasing self esteem through service - "I believe my platform is beneficial for all ages and can truly help others reach their full potential as an individual" - she explained.

For her platform Dexonna creates and does one major service project each month and invites all those wanting to participate to be apart of it - "I’ve also had the opportunity to create my own dance program for students with special needs. I have also been able to serve humanitarian projects in both Vietnam and Mexico."

If she wins the crown Dexonna will have the opportunity to represent the state of Utah in Miss America 2019 on September 9, 2018 in Atlantic City. At the end of the event, Miss America 2018, Cara Mund of North Dakota, will officially crown her successor.

Did you know ? Two Miss Utah titleholders have won the Miss America pageant.

JessiKate Riley of Beaver was crowned Miss Utah 2017 on June 17, 2017 at Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City, Utah. She competed for the title of Miss America 2018 on September 10, 2017 in Atlantic City, New Jersey where she won a Preliminary award in Talent as well as a Non-Finalist talent award.

On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men. Since being selected a pageant girl, Saryna Ritter has used the spotlight to draw attention to domestic violence, as an advocate for other victims. 

"When I was in high school I had a close friend who we found out was getting physically abused at home. Being so scared for her and not knowing what to do...a few friends and I went to the school counselor to seek help for her. A few weeks later I received a letter in the mail about pageants and how you can have a platform. Not knowing what that meant at the time, I needed more information so I called the number. At the end of the conversation I signed up because I wanted to be that voice for my friend and reach out to others in the same situation. I started pageantry and was inspired to start competing to help others."

Saryna will have the opportunity to represent the state of Illinois in the International Ms Pageant on August 24-26, 2018 in New York City. The contest is for women 26-39 and is opened to all nationalities and marital statuses, with or without children. 

Lets know a little more about Saryna's story and her journey to the crown through this interview!