Entering the pageant world was an overwhelming change for 15-year-old Jenaya Logan, but the Saddle Lake competitor was embracing the life-changing opportunity to try something new as one of 25 contestants for Miss Teen Canada Globe.
“Ever since I was young, I was told that I should get into modelling,” said the Vilna School student in an interview from Toronto, where she was undergoing training for the pageant competition to start this weekend. “I never attempted to try for it, because I didn’t feel like I had the confidence to do it.”
But the winner of Miss Alberta Globe 2016, who is also from Saddle Lake, made a Facebook post encouraging people to apply for the pageant in 2016. On seeing this post from Bobbie-Joe Whiskeyjack, Jenaya gave it a second thought, and finally decided to ask Whiskeyjack about the opportunity. After she heard more, she decided it “would be a great experience and that it would open so many new doors for me.”
Claudia Logan, Jenaya’s mother, said that her daughter hadn’t expressed an interest in being part of a beauty pageant before, saying with a laugh, “She’s more of my tomboy.”
But she and her husband had always supported their four kids in whatever they wanted to do, just as they supported Jenaya when she has wanted to play hockey in the past.
“We’ve always been behind her, her dad and myself.”
Jenaya went through an application process, making a written submission and sending in an application fee as well as head and body shots, after which she was selected for a preliminary interview and a follow-up interview. Eventually, she found out she was accepted as a contestant for the Miss Teen Canada Globe pageant, for girls aged 12 to 18.
“As soon as I got that phone call telling me that I’ve been accepted as a 2016 delegate, I had such a good feeling,” she said.
But getting accepted was only part of the battle – the family had to fundraise more than $3,400 to meet the requirements of the pageant, and with support from Jenaya’s grandparents, family and friends and air miles, she was almost there.
“Sometimes it felt so hard, we just wanted to give up,” said Logan, adding there were things like finding the right bronze-coloured bathing suit for the swimwear competition that just had the family running around in circles. But in the end, she managed to get her daughter to Toronto, along with her evening dress, ready to fancy-dance for her talent, and yes, the bronze bathing suit.
That perseverance ended up being part of the lesson Logan feels the experience gave Jenaya – “No matter what we put our minds to, we’ll get it done.”
Logan said that she couldn’t explain why her daughter was picked, but through her eyes, her daughter had lots of things going for her.
“She’s tall, she’s slim, she’s outgoing, she’s a beautiful person inside and out,” said Logan, adding, however, that Jenaya can still be shy and reserved among other people. She hoped the event would draw out more of her daughter’s confidence and outgoing side to her personality.
“Just the experience meeting new people, getting out there - I’m just glad she’s partaking in this event. It’s new for all of us, but it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for a 15-year-old to be making it and trying to get it done.”
“I’m proud of her,” she said, with a great smile evident in her voice.
As for Jenaya, she found her arrival in Toronto to be “very stressful,” in the beginning, saying, “I was crying and feeling very lonely at first, but the staff and some of the contestants made me feel welcomed and more comfortable.”
But over the long and busy days of training, something began to change. She started to embrace the experience and found herself building up in confidence.
“When I got here, I could barely walk in heels, but I’m already getting good,” she said, adding that her nerves over being up on stage were starting to calm down, and the excitement over taking part in regionals was building up.
And while she had never danced in pow-wow or public before, she began to feel pretty confident in her moves and eager to show the audiences and judges her Cree culture too.
People can vote for Jenaya as their favourite delegate to win the People’s Choice Award online, at http://goo.gl/iUylPW, with each vote costing $1.05 to make. The competition will be broadcasted and the results will be published when the competition is over, on Aug. 13.
