by Eva Shaw Gill
The past 6 months has been very exciting for Kaitlyn Shaw, who was crowned Miss Roanoke Teen USA in April which earned her a spot in the Miss Virginia/Miss Virginia Teen USA Pageant held Friday-Sunday, Oct. 9-11, in Charlottesville, VA.
The contestants included 24 “teens” and 20 “miss” for a total of 44 contestants. On Friday they were asked to participate in a silent charity auction where they decorated a table with signs and goodies explaining the charity of their choose. That event raised awareness and over $12,000 for various charities.
Saturday, morning the Teens were up and dressed by 7:00 for a light breakfast before each had an individual interview with the judges. Then it was off to practice/rehearsal from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with preliminaries from 8-10:00 p.m. After introductions came the swimwear competition, wrapping up with the evening gowns.
On Sunday the contestants were up bright and earlier and on the bus to the Paramount Theater where they practiced a dance routine for the final competition that began with a Grecian theme with contestants dressed as Goddesses–and the first rounds of elimination began. Hearts were pounding as the host announced, “Number 4, Kaitlyn Shaw will be moving on to the next round!” The Teen competition then went from 24 to 13.
The 13 girls had to compete again, first in swimsuits followed by evening gowns after which 8 “teens” would be eliminated, leaving the Top 5 to move on. The announcer said, “moving to the top 5 is Kaitlyn Shaw!..”
Now it’s time for the Judges to ask the on-stage question with each finalist drawing a judge’s name from the bowl. Kaitlyn’s question was, “how do you deal with peer pressure?” With the final tally Kaitlyn emerged 3rd Runner Up in the 2016 Miss Virginia Teen USA Pageant. Not bad for a first time entry after being approached and encouraged to enter into the Pageant by her now Pageant coach.
A native-born Virginian, Kaitlyn and her siblings Kenneth and Klaudia (triplets) were born in Norfolk, but reside in Roanoke are presently sophomores at William Fleming High School.
When Kaitlyn is not working she is playing volleyball, working-out and boxing. Her favorite pastime is volunteering, spending time with children, shopping and hanging out with her friends.
Kaitlyn’s ambition is to continue to play volleyball (in college) and model while earning a degree in Law. She would also like to be a Victoria’s Secret model and earn her Wings.
She enjoys traveling and making appearances. If anyone is interested in having her make an appearance as a speaker, host or just attend in support, she would be highly honored.
Kaitlyn is the daughter of Kenneth Shaw, Sr. and Eva Shaw (Demare) Gill and the granddaughter of Claudia Whitworth and the late Walter Crump.
