MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Some girls have to wait until their high school’s homecoming or prom for their chance to win a sash and crown, but 13-year-old Maplewood resident Nyla Edwards has a jumpstart on that experience after being awarded the title of 2016 National American Miss New Jersey at the state pageant held Aug. 14.
Following the win, Nyla will attend the national pageant to be held in Anaheim, Calif., at Disneyland during Thanksgiving week, where she will represent the Garden State for an opportunity to win the national title, as well as more than $500,000 in cash and prizes.
The National American Miss Pageant is dedicated to developing the success of young women across the nation with a program that is designed to be age-appropriate and family-oriented. Pageants are held for girls aged 4 to 18 in five different age divisions. Nyla competed in the preteen division, which required her to give a personal introduction and interview, exhibit formal wear and display community involvement.
Despite winning big in the state competition this year, Nyla’s mother, Anya Edwards, said she was initially unsure about letting Nyla take part in the program.
“We got a letter last year for the pageant; someone recommended Nyla for an open call and I was skeptical at first,” Anya Edwards said in a recent phone interview with the News-Record. “What made me feel more comfortable was that when we went, most pre-teens and under do not wear makeup and there is no emphasis on physical beauty.”
According to National American Miss Pageant, the pageant program is based on inner beauty, as well as poise and presentation. Emphasis is placed on the importance of gaining self-confidence, learning new skills, learning good attitudes about competition, and setting and achieving personal goals.
“The formal section and then the personal interview section, those are not things that 13-year-olds get to do often,” Anya Edwards said. “There’s also a public speaking section where they have to tell the audience about themselves, and you are judged on not only what you say but how you say it. I thought that was important since the No. 1 fear of Americans is public speaking.”
Nyla said her preparations for this year’s competition were all about sticking with what she knew.
“Last year I was fairly new to it, so I just read the books and followed that and this year I knew what I had to do,” Nyla said in a recent interview with the News-Record. “I wrote my speech with what I was comfortable with, and I also signed up for optional competitions that don’t count toward the final score: actress, top model, talent, casual wear model and photogenic.
In addition to preparing for the new school year and the upcoming national competition, Nyla’s activities also include volleyball, altar serving, Girl Scouts, track and field, acting and babysitting. Nyla’s sponsors for the state competition were Maplecrest Ford-Lincoln, Maplewood Pizzeria, South Orange Dental Center, the Cliffs at Eagle Rock in West Orange, Realtor Robert Northfield and Dr. PetLover LLC in South Orange, as well as family and friends.
“I wanted to win and make friends, and I liked that we had to bring in children’s books for the community service project so that we could help kids less fortunate,” Nyla said. “For the national competition, I will have to get sponsors just like I did for the state competition, and I am hoping to win at nationals and enjoy the experience. The main reason I want to win is so I can meet girls from around the country and see Hollywood and Disneyland.”
Nyla’s parents are excited for her to move on to the national competition, and are proud of how she prepared for the state competition.
“She planned how she wanted to attack, she focused on it like a laser, and put a lot of time and effort in this,” Nyla’s father, Trent Edwards, told the News-Record.
Photo Courtesy of Anya and Trent Edwards