Wesley Chapel resident Sienna Romano is proud to have received the title of Miss Florida within the state Nationwide American Miss (NAM) pageant on July 27, on the Hyatt Regency Orlando resort.
Successful the state crown signifies that Sienna advances to the NAM Nationwide Finals, which might be held the weekend of Thanksgiving, on the similar Orlando resort. The NAM winner will obtain her crown on Nov. 30. Sienna says she is hoping to win, not as a lot for the cash (a $5,000 scholarship), the “swag” she’ll win and even the glory, however to proceed to have the ability to assist others, which has at all times been her focus.
“So, not like Miss America or Miss USA, Nationwide American Miss focuses on extra than simply magnificence or expertise,” she says. “It’s obtained a community- service focus and I’ve been doing group service and volunteering my entire life. I imagine that makes me function mannequin for different women to get into group service, too.”
In reality, 20-year-old Sienna says, “I’ve my very own initiative referred to as Hope on Hand, the place I create and promote suicide consciousness bracelets, and I’m making an attempt to take my initiative throughout the state presently, and hopefully, ultimately, throughout the nation.”
Why suicide consciousness? “My greatest buddy, Melissa, dedicated suicide as a young person and I had no thought what she was going via,” Sienna says. “That’s what I’m making an attempt to teach others about. The people who find themselves hurting probably the most on the within are sometimes those who look the happiest on the skin. And, this can be a large downside throughout the nation with youngsters, and it’s solely gotten worse with [the growth of] social media.”
Sienna additionally says she began her group service efforts at a younger age.
“Once I was actually younger, me and my mother used to do care packages for the homeless, and we used at hand these out across the metropolis,” she says. “After which, I additionally volunteered for Sole Hope. You gather donated denims and you chop out templates for the higher parts of footwear which can be donated to youngsters in want,” to offer them with much-needed safety in opposition to parasitic foot illnesses. “I imagine I used to be in second grade after I volunteered for that charity.” She additionally volunteered for Cat Haven Rescue, which finds loving houses for undesirable, deserted and abused cats and kittens.
Sienna says that it took her “about three years” after Melissa dedicated suicide for her to create Hope on Hand, which is when she began coming into pageants final yr. “I join with folks and share my greatest buddy’s story and I promote my bracelets and study different folks’s tales,” she says. “I additionally might be volunteering at a suicide prevention run later this month.”
She was born in North Carolina, however moved to Wesley Chapel along with her household in 2016. “I say I used to be raised in each North Carolina and Wesley Chapel,” she says. She attended John Lengthy Center Faculty and graduated highschool from Wiregrass Ranch Excessive.
Her mother and pa, Linda and Damian, and her sisters Olivia, Ava and Liah, are all “so pleased with me. All of them cheered so loud after I received!”
Sienna says she’s going to attend the College of South Florida in St. Pete and plans to main in criminology. “I need to be a prison psychologist,” she says, “as a result of I do know loads of criminals have psychological well being points, so I actually need to study that type of stuff.”
She’s additionally hopeful to win the NAM Nationwide title, “and journey across the nation, spreading the phrase and educating different folks about suicide prevention and consciousness.”
And, though the Nationwide Finals are additionally in Orlando, Sienna says that solely her ticket to the occasion is paid for, so she is in search of sponsorships to pay for the opposite bills related along with her journey.
In case you’re considering serving to out, ship Sienna a message on her pageant Instagram: @TheNAMFLMiss.
About The Nationwide American Miss (NAM) Pageant
First held in 2003, the Nationwide American Miss Pageant shouldn’t be associated to the older Miss America or Miss USA pageants. In response to its web site, “Our aim is to Develop Confidence and train Actual World Expertise.” Try a few of these wonderful issues concerning the Nationwide American Miss (NAM) Pageant!
• NAM is a program primarily based on the foundational precept of fostering optimistic self-image by enhancing pure magnificence inside.
• Nationwide American Miss is a program designed for immediately’s woman and lady. We have fun America’s greatness and the individuality of every contestant.
• It’s a program centered round serving to women and girls develop and develop their concepts about who they’re and what they need to obtain. We wish each contestant to comprehend that she actually can clutch her desires and make them actual!
• Nationwide American Miss has pleasant employees members who will information you all through your pageant expertise. Each crew member is dedicated to opening doorways of alternative for women that aren’t accessible wherever else.
• Our concert-level sound and lighting is unsurpassed! You may be proud to ask your loved ones and buddies to rally round and help you on pageant weekend.
• We’re a program that teaches helpful abilities that gives you a aggressive edge to achieve no matter fields it’s possible you’ll select.
• Age Group Divisions: NAM Princess (ages 4-6), NAM Jr. Pre-Teen (7-9), NAM Pre- Teen (10-12), NAM Jr. Teen (13-15), NAM (16-18), NAM (19-24), NAM Elite (25-39)
