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Stepping into the spotlight |
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Thursday, 04 December 2008 |
By ANDREA POTEET
Staff Writer
Since a Wapakoneta High School junior was a toddler, she says she feels most comfortable on the stage.
Allison Stiger, 16 has been singing and dancing since she was 2-years-old, when her mother directed her in the children’s choir at First United Methodist Church.
“I just like making people smile and I don’t feel like I’m in my body when I’m performing,” Stiger said. “It’s fun.”
Since then, Stiger has gone on to perform in the Wapakoneta Theatre Guild’s 2008 production of “Fame,” and with the Wapakoneta High School Show Choir, Singsation, as well as Wish Upon a Song, a Celina-based musical competition.
The chance to perform drew her onto the stage at the Lima civic center Nov. 22 to compete in the Miss Central Ohio Outstanding Teen Pageant and this time she walked off with more than smiles — Stiger came away with the crown.
She said the moment she won was made more special because her friend, Wapakoneta High School junior Monica Bates, last year’s title holder, placed the crown on her head.
“I just don’t think it would have been the same if I didn’t know her,” Stiger said.
Stiger found out about the competition from Bates and decided to enter it for potential scholarship money and to be a role model for area youth.
“I wanted to be a representative of our community,” Stiger said. “I wanted to have better leadership skills and perform.”
The talent portion of the pageant, in which she performed “And I’m Telling You” from the Broadway musical ‘Dreamgirls,” was the highlight of the pageant, she said.
Before she was crowned Miss Central Ohio Outstanding Teen, Stiger was named the winner of the talent portion of the program and was presented with an electric guitar and amp.
“I was happy before I was even crowned,” Stiger said.
This year, pageant organizers opted to forgo the scholarship money and instead crown a second contestant.
Kelsey Barrett, of Wapakoneta, was crowned Miss Grand Lake Outstanding Teen at the pageant.
Stiger said she was happy to give up potential scholarship winnings so that she, Barrett and Bates, who is to be presented with a second title at the pageant, can compete together in the state competition in Mansfield in June.
“We’ll be competing against friends, but we’ll bring a big Wapakoneta fan group between the three of us,” Stiger said.
Stiger displays some of her winnings — her crown and sash — on a small artificial Christmas tree in the family’s dining room that has been nicknamed her “pageant tree.” She also won a trophy, a watch from Hudsons Jewelers and a one-night stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Lima.
She said at the state competition, there will be more opportunity for each of the girls to win scholarships.
Stiger plans to use any scholarships she earns towards a degree in music education or physical therapy, because both careers would allow her to help people. She has not yet decided on a college.
She works as a lifeguard at the Wapakoneta Family YMCA and said she loves the opportunity it gives her to teach young children.
“It would be neat to inspire them with music,” the daughter of Nan and Shawn Stiger said. “It’s definitely impacted my life a lot.”
Stiger’s mother said she was proud of all three Wapakoneta girls represented at the pageant.
“It was really unusual to have three Wapakoneta girls do such a great job,” Nan Stiger said. “It was a good day for Wapak.”
Nan Stiger said she is proud of her daughter’s accomplishments as she prepared for the pageant.
“She was a victor before she went,” Nan Stiger said, “just to have the courage to try.”
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Last Updated ( Friday, 05 December 2008 )
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