Lake Zurich teen nears Miss Illinois Junior title

Suhanee Patel of Lake Zurich, daughter of Trupti and Amul Patel, has earned the title of the 2018 National American Miss Illinois Junior Teen at the state pageant held July 29.

Other awards she earned were Best Resume, Academic Achievement, and Heart of Service for her 533 hours of volunteer work in the past three years. She will be attending the national pageant in Anaheim, California, at Disneyland during Thanksgiving week, representing the state of Illinois, where she will have the opportunity to win her share of more than $500,000 in cash and prizes.

Each year, the National American Miss Pageants award $1.5 million in cash scholarships and prizes to recognize and assist the development of young woman nationwide. National American Miss has added a door prize at nationals 2018. Each contestant that qualifies for the national pageant has a chance to win a new 2018 Ford Mustang convertible. For more details, visit www.namiss.com/car.

National American Miss is dedicated to developing the success of young women with a program designed to be age-appropriate and family-oriented. Pageants are held in each state for girls ages 4 to 18 in five different age divisions.

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 pageant seeks to recognize the accomplishments of each girl while encouraging her to set goals for the future!

Suhanee has competed with National American Miss since the age of 9. Six years later, through hard work and perseverance, she earned the title that she dreamed of for so many years.

Her sponsors for the pageant were Burn Boot Camp Lake Zurich, Grand Dental Lake Zurich, Monat by Jess Scott Sanders, Trades of Hope by Nettie Sfire, Artwork by Barb, and Avalon Salon and Day Spa Deer Park.

Suhanee is looking forward to spending Thanksgiving week at nationals and having the opportunity to spread her self-created organization, Glitter for the Golden, on a national level once again.

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