Two local teens in America’s Junior Miss competition

YOUNGSTOWN — Two local teens are hoping to walk away with thousands of dollars in scholarship money from America’s Junior Miss competition this month.

Lauren Gessner of Canfield and Christine Marty of Sarver, Pa., are both in the competition and listed on the Web site dedicated to participants. The public is asked to log on to the site — www.nbc15online.com/content/AJM/Pennsylvania.aspx — and vote for those in the competition.

Gessner, who represents Ohio, attended Canfield High School and plans to attend the University of South Alabama. She lists news anchor or reporter/book editor as her career goals.

Marty, representing Pennsylvania, attended Freeport Senior High School and plans to attend Muhlenberg College. She lists certified public accountant and public relations consultant as her career goals.

America’s Junior Miss was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Mobile, Ala. More than 700,000 young women from across the nation have participated in Junior Miss programs at the local, state and national levels. In addition to cash scholarships, Junior Miss participants are eligible for college-granted scholarships from nearly 200 colleges and universities.

During the two weeks prior to the final competition on June 28, participants from all 50 states travel to Mobile to learn the dance and fitness routines necessary for the competition, practice their talent, be interviewed by judges and participate in dozens of community events and appearances.

The finals will be aired on the Web site from 7 to 9 p.m. June 28. The winner will receive a $50,000 scholarship to the college of her choice.

Each contestant has also been furnished a pink LG Venus phone from Verizon Wireless which can be used to upload photos to a Web site dedicated to the competition. The contestant with the most public votes will win a $1,000 scholarship from Verizon Wireless.

The Verizon Wireless scholarship will be presented June 26. Voting closes at 5 p.m. June 25.