North Royalton High School Senior, Erin Simonek, continues to make her hometown proud as she competed in a Miss Ohio Preliminary pageant. She was crowned Miss Ohio River 2016 on March 12 in Mansfield. Simonek, soon to be 18, will be the youngest woman to compete for the title of Miss Ohio 2016. She will be joined on stage with Karolina Ulasevich, 2013 Miss North Royalton.
Erin, a senior at NRHS, has held three titles in her high school career, including Princess North Royalton 2012, Miss Greater Cleveland’s Outstanding Teen 2015, and now Miss Ohio River 2016. Her mother Pauline said, “I am beyond proud of our daughter. She has shown grace, dignity, compassion, and perseverance in her competitions, and pageants have molded her into a confident young lady.”
The Miss America Organization is one of the nation’s top scholarship providers for young women and has granted Erin $600 so far for college. Each preliminary pageant consists of a private ten-minute interview, swimsuit in physical fitness, talent, evening gown, and on stage question. Erin’s favorite portion has always been the private interview.
“I’ve seen these beautiful role models my entire life and it is surreal to think I am the woman the little girls now look up to,” said Erin. “It was my goal to be the youngest contestant at Miss Ohio and I knew I could accomplish that with stamina. I am privileged to start my journey to Miss Ohio as an 18-year-old. It is kind of funny to think of it as one weekend I’m going to my senior prom, the weekend after that I’m graduating high school, and the weekend after that I’m competing for Miss Ohio. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
She seems like she has her head on her shoulders and even a crown to top it all off. Erin will start as a freshman this fall at Kent State University as a broadcast journalism major.
Miss Ohio Week is from Friday, June 10, through the crowning of Miss Ohio 2016 on Saturday, June 18, and tickets are available on www.missohio.org.