Residents from Franklinton and surrounding areas gathered
at numerous places last Saturday and although the locations might have been
different, the reason was not.
People of all ages huddled around laptops, tablets and
large projection screens to watch Franklinton native Katherine Haik compete in
the Miss Teen USA pageant.
After being crowned Miss Louisiana Teen USA, Katherine
would represent Louisiana in the Miss Teen USA pageant held at the Atlantis
Resort in the Bahamas. The daughter of Tim and Jennifer Haik and younger sister
of Caroline, Katherine became the youngest young lady to win the Miss Louisiana
Teen USA pageant. She is the granddaughter of Vick and Verna Haik of Bogalusa
and Terry and the late J.Y. Seal of Franklinton.
At the Miss Teen USA pageant, Katherine would compete
against 50 other contestants vying for the title. Contestants arrived the week
before Saturday's big event and enjoyed planned events while preparing for
Friday and Saturday.
Katherine was joined in the Bahamas by her parents, her
sister and her Aunt Rebecca. Her maternal grandmother, Terry, watched the event
with approximately 200 others at Caddy Shack Restaurant on the outside deck on
a large projection screen.
Preliminaries of the Miss Teen USA pageant were held
Friday with the main part of the competition coming on Saturday.
Once the show began, it wasn't long before the 51
contestants were reduced to 15. Katherine was selected to join 14 others who
would compete for the title.
While watching with so many others, her grandmother,
Terry, commented on how nervous she was and how thankful she was that Katherine
made the first cut. "I was so
nervous and just thanked God when she made the Top 15."
After hearing talks from Miss USA and Miss Universe, the
final 15 were on stage for the swimsuit competition while all 51 participants
came out for the evening gown competition.
The announcement of the Final 5 contestants followed. The
Final 5 included Hannah Green from Tennessee, Sophie Baird from Massachusetts,
Jane Axhoj from North Carolina, Melanie Mitchell from California and
Louisiana's Katherine Haik. There were a few anxious moments as Katherine was
the last of the five to be announced.
The Final 5 contestants were then each asked a question
with the exception of Katherine. The host told Katherine that he had heard that
she could recite each of the United States Presidents while singing. He then
asked her to perform her trademark song which she did flawlessly. People from
the Bahamas to Louisiana clapped along as she sang. Numerous Facebook videos
showed Franklinton-area crowds joining along with her.
Her grandmother, Terry, was one of those clapping.
"I was so thrilled that she had made the Top 5. I was extremely happy that
she was going to be able to place in the top five of the competition."
Each finalist then picked a name from a bowl that
contained the name of one of the judges. The judge selected would then ask that
contestant a question.
Katherine selected Fred Nelson as the judge to ask her a
question. Nelson asked her what historical woman should have her picture on the
new $10 bill and why.
"I would have to go with Rosa Parks," said
Katherine. "I love how she stood up for what she believed in and I really
respect that of her bravery. I think if we, as a generation, learn to do that
then we would be even better. So, just standing up for what we believe in and
doing what's right."
Following the announcements of Miss Photogenic and Miss
Congeniality and an announcement from 2014 Miss Teen USA K. Lee Graham, the
moment that everyone had been waiting for had arrived.
One by one, Final 5 contestants were eliminated beginning
with Massachusetts, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Miss California was the only
one between Katherine and the Miss Teen USA title. As the two nervously awaited
the announcement, the judge finally announced the word that so many in our area
had been hoping to hear: Louisiana.
As our new Miss Teen USA was hugged by Miss California,
Facebook pages and Twitter feeds lit up with posts from supporters of
Katherine's. Videos were shown of numerous watch parties and their responses as
Katherine was announced as the winner. People were clapping and hugging each
other, quite a few were shedding tears of joy and some didn't have the words to
express how happy and excited they were.
Included in that group was Ms. Terry, Katherine's
grandmother who was in Louisiana celebrating with others. "I was totally
speechless and didn't know what to say. I was extremely proud of her
though."
As Katherine was crowned and presented with flowers, she
took her first walk as the 2015 Miss Teen USA. When asked by the hosts to make
a comment, she was nearly speechless like so many others who had been cheering
her on for the last two hours. At the age of 15, Katherine becomes the youngest
person to ever win the Miss Teen USA title.
Katherine was whisked away to New York the following
morning for a week of interviews and other events. She will spend much of her
time in the next year away from Franklinton while representing Louisiana and
the USA in different parts of the country.
With the personality of such a wonderful young lady, she
will surely have Franklinton in her heart wherever her travels take her on this
wonderful journey.
