Junior Ella Simpson wins her second title as Miss Tyson after advocating for mental health awareness in elementary schools and raising money for the cause. 

    For a year and a half, junior Ella Simpson has been participating in pageants, most recently winning the title of Miss Tyson. Simpson’s passion for community service and helping others sparked an interest in pursuing community service pageants. 

    “I started doing pageants through singing. I discovered that pageants have a talent portion, so 20 percent of your overall score is the singing performance that you do,” said Simpson. Before her win of Miss Tyson the previous year, Simpson had won the title of Miss Piedmont region teen.

    There are two types of pageants available: community service pageants and beauty pageants. Beauty pageants are more focused on looks, while community service pageants are more focused on community service and impact.  

    “One of my friends recommended it to me because I was already a proficient public speaker, and I enjoy doing community service,” said Simpson, who advocates for children’s mental health. “I struggled with an anxiety disorder. I was never taught what mental health was until about sixth grade, so [before that], when I was frequently experiencing panic attacks, I didn’t even know what they were,” stated Simpson. 

    Now, Simpson goes to elementary schools and teaches about mental health through her project called Acknowledge, Communicate, and Try (ACT). “I talk to them about coping strategies and we make coping strategies to match mine,” added Simpson. 

    On March 7, the day before the Miss Tyson pageant, Simpson had rehearsal from 5-11 PM. The rehearsal consisted of practicing the opening dance number that other contestants, including Simpson, have to showcase at the beginning of the competition. 

    Waking up the next morning at 5 AM, Simpson got ready to secure the title of Miss Tyson. First, she did hair and make-up, and by 8:30 AM, she was in her interview about her community service efforts. “I did some walking practice with a walking coach during the day and then I talked to my vocal coach and did a warm up, then I talked to the other girls,” said Simpson.

    The pageant took the entire day, featuring many events that the contestants had to participate in. The first event was the dance number that Simpson had practiced the day before. Next it was the onstage interview. “They asked us one question, we didn’t know what it was going to be, and we had 30 seconds to convince the audience and the judges why we would be the best title holder out of all the other contestants. The question was what is the biggest problem facing elementary schoolers with mental health, so I had to talk about that and address how I would fix the problem,” said Simpson.

     The following category was a fitness walk which examined the competitors’ health. “[The fitness walk] is 20 percent, they want to see your overall health and how well you would advocate for the American Heart Association because it’s one of their partners. The third category was talent focused, and contestants could either sing, perform a musical number, or dance. For this part of the show, Simpson sang “Don’t Forget Me,” from the Broadway musical “Smash.” 

    The final category of the night was the evening gown event, where each contestant had to walk out in their selected evening gown. After that last category, Simpson was awarded the title of Miss Tyson. 

    “I felt really great. I’ve put in so much work for this pageant. I put in a lot of money such as buying my dresses, signing up, getting a hotel, getting a walking coach, getting an interview coach. I was volunteering at elementary schools every day; I talked to 600 kids; I raised over 1,000 dollars for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. I put in so much hard work and am grateful I won so now I can compete for Miss Virginia,” said Simpson. 

    Over the past year of competing and advocating for children’s mental health, Simpson has been getting to know the community and the world of pageanting. “I really like the community because every woman that I meet there is inspired and determined. I’ve met so many women who are doctors and lawyers. It’s basically the Barbie competition, because you have to be so well rounded. You need to sing or dance, be good at public speaking, community service, and just be able to present yourself,” said Simpson.