Katherine Haik crowned Miss Teen USA

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.