Contestant 6: Kendall Cosper

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (SCPDA): Stanton College Preparatory School's Miss Stanton pageant is coming up, each of this year's participants are competing in hope of becoming the girl who represents Stanton. To better understand their hopes and goals of participating in Miss Stanton, the Devil's Advocate interviewed them to see what they have to say.

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE: Why did you decide to run for Miss Stanton? KENDALL COSPER: I decided to run for Miss Stanton because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and do something different than my extracurriculars. I have a couple of friends that have already graduated that were in Miss Stanton before, and I know they had a good experience and made a lot of friends, and that is why they wanted to do it, and it made me go, “oh, that is something I would want to do.”

DA: What would you say is the most important component of a pageant performance? KC: The most important thing is to make sure the judges know a part of your personality and can tell who you are through each section of the pageant. Your personality, values, and what you think is important should be shown through what you do onstage.

DA: Who do you hope to inspire? KC: I hope to inspire little girls.I want them to know you do not have to meet any special requirements to be in a pageant. Anybody can do it. I want them to know they can follow their dreams if they put their minds to it.

DA: Who inspires you? KC: Someone that inspires me a lot is my aunt. She has fought breast cancer multiple times, and even though she still has setbacks because of cancer, she is always joyful whenever I see her and is always living her life to the fullest.

DA: What is a cause you are passionate about? KC: A cause I am passionate about is in my speech for Miss Stanton. I am talking about how important it is to have arts as a part of school education and inside every student’s curriculum. The arts are an important part of being able to develop yourself as a person, whether it is through visual art, music, theater or dance. It is a different form of communication and self-exploration.

DA: How do you think your experiences with the arts have shaped you? KC: I have learned to appreciate the world around me more and interpret it in various ways. Instead of just looking at nature and thinking it is pretty, I can think about the different ways I can depict it in my artwork.

DA: What are some goals you have set for the future? KC: My most relevant goal right now is to graduate and go to a college I really like. I do not have my mind set on one in particular, but I do know I want to do my best there and be successful with a good job that I enjoy.

DA: What does the title “Miss Stanton” mean to you? KC: I think Miss Stanton is a person that represents the school well and is able to fully represent the whole student body in a good way and be a positive person that really loves their school a lot.

DA: How would you deal with possible negative responses or criticism? KC: The best way to deal with negativity is to not let it get to your head and realize it is okay if people do not like you. Not everybody has to like you, what is most important is that you like yourself.

DA: How are you going to face your competition in Miss Stanton this year? KC: I think everybody has a shot at winning the pageant. I think we have a really fun group this year. I am not really concerned about winning the whole thing, I just think it is an awesome experience to be able to make friends. Everybody is so talented and also really nice.