Red Deer teen Candice Rausch received an early sweet 16 birthday present in February.

The Hunting Hills High School student was age 15 when she found out she would be one of 13 finalists from across the province vying for the top award in the Miss Teen Canada-World Pageant in Toronto in July.

Stettler teen Jessica Harvey, 15, will also be heading to the competition in Toronto, after both young women qualified at a provincial competition in Calgary in February.

Rausch and Harvey both heard about the provincial pageant through a link on Facebook. They went through the application process and an interview over Skype, beating out hundreds of other girls to take part the event. They competed against 35 young women to move on to the next level.

Harvey traded in her hockey skates for high heels around a year ago when she started modelling. The Grade 10 student at William E. Hay Composite High School said sports have helped her confidence on stage. She played hockey from the age of 11 to 14 and still helps supervise in the sky box during Lightning games.

Rausch has danced since the age of three, practicing jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, hip hop and musical theatre at J.D.’s Fabulous Feet in Red Deer. The honour roll student said she wasn’t nervous on stage because she has danced for most of her life, but she found the interview process nerve-racking.

Although pageants still showcase beauty, Harvey thinks they’ve become more popular again in recent years because they also highlight inner beauty.

“There is so much potential for improvement in our society. There are so many issues today that need to really be recognized and acknowledged,” she said. The pageants give girls with a passion to help people and change society the chance to do so, said Harvey.

Harvey wants to focus on speaking out against bullying by going to schools to talk to young children.

She said it’s a cause close to her heart because she was bullied herself as a child.

Rausch wants to focus her energy on improving teenagers’ self-esteem. She said lack of self-esteem is a big problem in high school, where there is pressure to look and be like everyone else. She said she wants to encourage people to choose a healthy and active lifestyle, rather than turning to anorexia or bulimia.

Both teenagers are in the process of trying to raise the $2,000 entry fee each must pay to enter the competition. The money pays for their hotel, food, workshops and some of the items like swimsuit and shoes that they will need. The top 50 young women in the country will compete for $25,000 in cash and prizes at the national competition.

Both young women have big plans for their future. Rausch would like to study psychology and eventually help children and adolescents. Harvey is hoping to be among the stars — literally. The Stettler teen wants to study aeronautical and chemical engineering at McGill University in Montreal. Harvey would eventually like to become a missions specialist with NASA and take part in the first mission to Mars.

Contact Stacy O’Brien

at sobrien@reddeeradvocate.com