A whirlwind, a marathon, being shot out of a cannon. Take your pick of metaphors. This is Kristin Cleavinger’s life right now, as she prepares to represent La Jolla at the Miss California Teen USA pageant in November. Cleavinger, a 17-year-old senior at Scripps Ranch High School, was selected in February to be the Miss Teen La Jolla contestant after being recruited from a talent agency near Los Angeles. It is expected she will be competing against as many as 50 other young women from all over the state. It’s been a bit of blur, she said, dealing with recruiters, interviews, questionnaires, studying, bi-weekly phone conferences with pageant organizers and now finding sponsors to help her with everything from photos, to fashion to covering the $850 entrance fee. But the potential rewards are also great, Cleavinger said, not only in terms of scholarship money but also the chance to be the spokesperson for the Miss California Teen USA organization for a year. Not to mention, she will compete for the title of Miss Teen USA. “This is my first pageant,” she said. “I never saw myself as a pageant girl … I am a theatrical performer, which is how I was drawn to this pageant.” After receiving a notice about Miss California Teen from a talent agency, she met with a pageant recruiter. After some interviews and questionnaires, she was picked. “I got notification in February saying ‘Congratulations Miss La Jolla Teen California 2012’ and I was like, ‘Woo hoo!’” she said. “I was really excited.” She said she is very pleased to be representing La Jolla, which is where she was born. “This is where all my community work is, and the people here — it’s their work ethic, their morals,” she said. “They are inspirational to me. They are my role models.” Cleavinger sits on the La Jolla Playhouse student board, is a core team member on St. Gregory the Great’s youth leadership team and works with “Isabella’s Giraffe Club,” an organization that helps parents with infants in critical care or who have lost an infant. In January, she started working at the new Sprinkles Cupcakes at 8855 Villa La Jolla Drive. To get involved with her campaign, email her at Kristin.Cleav inger@ gmail.com, or visit her Facebook page at www.face book.com/Kristin for MissCaliTeen.
