MANSFIELD, Ohio – The city of Mansfield will be represented well this week with two local girls competing in the Miss Ohio Outstanding Teen pageant.
Sydney Shasky and Gabriella Morando are two of the 18 contestants who will walk the stage at the Renaissance Theater on Wednesday evening with the hopes of winning the Miss Ohio Outstanding Teen crown. This is Sydney’s third year competing in the Outstanding Teen competition, and Gabriella’s first.
Sydney Shasky
Sydney first started competing in the pageant circuit at the age of 13, an interest sparked by watching the TV show “Toddlers & Tiaras.” She described her very first experience as “overwhelming.”
“I was a little nervous; it was like nothing I’d ever done before,” she said. “But after the first pageant I was perfectly OK and ready to do another one.”
This year, Sydney will represent Mansfield as Miss Central Ohio’s Outstanding Teen. Her platform is “No Tolerance for Bullying,” something she holds dear to her heart as a student who has been bullied in the past.
“These kids growing up in the generation now, bullying is at an all-time high and we’re wondering why,” said Sydney. “Some kids are raised to do it and some aren’t, some kids want to fit in and some don’t, I want to make sure every kid feels like they belong.”
Sydney’s talent is lyrical dance, a passion she’s pursued since the age of 3, and this year she will be performing a dance of her own creation.
“I did a routine last year for Miss Ohio. This year I wanted to take it under my own wing and erase all the choreography I did last year and teach a new choreography dance of my own. I basically choreographed my own routine this year,” she said.
Her mother, Heather Shasky, admitted she finds herself getting very emotional when watching her daughter perform. She said she enjoys watching Sydney transform into a poised young woman during competition.
“Come competition time her whole body language changes, it’s like she’s in her own little world and once the competition comes she gives 110 percent,” said Heather Shasky. “It’s so different watching her outside of that – when you see her practicing and then you see her trying on her gowns and things like that, she holds herself with such beauty, but she’d be the first one to jump in the mud puddle with her crown and sash.”
As a veteran of the Miss Ohio Outstanding Teen competition, Sydney’s advice to first-time contestants is to try not to get overwhelmed. She said she looks forward to helping the newcomers through the program this year.
“We have a whole new group of girls coming in who have never done the program before so they might be nervous, they might have the same experience I had three years ago,” said Sydney. “If you’ve done it for three years you won’t get overwhelmed, but if you’re a teen going into this program for the first time it is very overwhelming. You just need to take it one step at a time.”
Gabriella Morando
Gabriella’s first experience with the Miss Ohio pageant was by stroke of luck.
“It was completely by accident,” said her mother, Elisabeth Morando. “One day I took her out of school for a doctor appointment and on the way back to school I had to run an errand; while we were getting out of the car a beautiful young woman got out and put on a crown and sash in the parking lot.”
That young woman was 2010 Miss Ohio Becky Minger, who also happened to be visiting Dunkin Jewelers. Gabriella and her mother smiled and giggled at Minger until Elisabeth Morando encouraged her daughter to say hello.
“Becky was so nice and so friendly, she took pictures with Gabriella and gave her an autograph, and Gabriella said good night to that photo every night for about six months,” said Elisabeth Morando. “She totally fell in love with the crown and Becky, and she lit a fire under Gabriella. It was that year she said, how can I do that?”
At age 13, Gabriella is the youngest contestant in the Miss Ohio Outstanding Teen competition, representing Miss Northwestern Ohio’s Outstanding Teen. Even though this is her first experience with the Outstanding Teen pageant, it’s not her first experience with the Miss Ohio program.
“I did the Miss Ohio Princess Camp for three years so I’ve been on stage before, but this is the first pageant with talent and interview so it’s a step up,” said Gabriella.
Gabriella’s platform is “Prevent, Prepare, Stay Aware,” dedicated to raising awareness among youth about the dangers of human trafficking.
“Human trafficking is such an invisible thing, especially here in Ohio where it’s such a huge problem and no one really talks about it,” she said. “That’s where I want to step in and teach people about the dangers and how to protect themselves, I want to be that person to shine a light on it.”
Her talent is dance, an art she’s been practicing since the age of five. Gabriella learns ballet and modern dance from Marden Ramos, a dancer and instructor at Richland Academy, but also practices pointe, tap and jazz. She’s been working on her routine now for three months.
Starting with Becky Minger back in 2010, Elisabeth Morando is grateful for the positive influence the Miss Ohio program has had on her daughter.
“I look at the whole pageant thing as a really glamorous job interview, because the winner has a job for a year to represent the program and your community and possibly your state,” she said. “Gabriella is very driven, she knows what she wants. And whether she becomes a professional dancer or an orthodontist, the scholarship money will really help.”
Gabriella’s advice to young girls thinking of emulating her in the future is to follow your dreams.
“I never thought I’d be able to do this but I put in the work and put in the effort and I’ve wanted it, so here I am with a preliminary title doing Miss Ohio’s Outstanding Teen competition,” she said.
