Malia Kamalani Cruz on way to compete for Miss Teen USA title

Posted 7/26/16

Malia Kamalani Cruz of Pawtuxet, who was crowned Miss Rhode Island Teen USA last August, left this week for Las Vegas, Nevada for the weeklong preparation for the coveted Miss Teen USA national title. The event will take place at the Venetian Theater in

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Malia Kamalani Cruz on way to compete for Miss Teen USA title

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Malia Kamalani Cruz of Pawtuxet, who was crowned Miss Rhode Island Teen USA last August, left this week for Las Vegas, Nevada for the weeklong preparation for the coveted Miss Teen USA national title. The event will take place at the Venetian Theater in the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Competition will include 51 contestants from across the USA and will conclude with the crowning of Miss Teen USA 2016.

Nineteen-year-old Malia is of Italian and Hawaiian descent. She has an older sister, Kalana, younger brother, Kanoa, and attended St. Peter School, where she attended with the same 19 students she started preschool with. Malia began high school at Pilgrim in Warwick but transferred and graduated from The Met School (Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center) in Providence because of her interest in the Big Picture Learning Opportunities they offered. Her curriculum at The Met School included live presentations in front of classmates, school advisory and staff, and it was there she began to feel comfortable with public speaking. She currently studies sociology at Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College and began her first year of college the day after the pageant, never missing a beat.

In addition to her work schedule, appearance activities and extensive training for Miss Teen USA, Malia will continue this fall as a full-time student with plans to continue to law school after graduation, pending the outcome of the national Miss Teen USA competition. Should she win the title of Miss Teen USA, her schedule will be adjusted to include the new responsibilities and opportunities that come with being Miss Teen USA. To bring the Miss Teen USA crown home to Rhode Island or not, this past year has opened many doors for Malia and has given her tremendous life experiences, professional contacts and, beautiful lasting friendships. She's worked hard to get herself ready and has an incredible team of directors, pageant staff, trainers and supporters behind her. All who have been instrumental in helping her prepare for the national competition next week.

Young woman walk away from the program a little more ready to deal with the world around them and, more importantly, the world ahead of them. The focus is to provide an opportunity for young women to better themselves, gain self-awareness, self-confidence, individual pride, and greater social awareness.

"Our philosophy for the Miss Rhode Island USA & Miss Rhode Island Teen USA program is not about encouraging young women to ‘win’ a pageant but to encourage young women to develop life skills that will ultimately help them win in life by being their personal best in everything they do,” said Cindy Provost, co-director of Miss Rhode Island Teen USA.

The 2017 Miss Rhode Island USA and Miss Rhode Island Teen USA Pageant will be held September 9-11 at The Vets Auditorium, Providence. Rhode Islanders can show their support for Malia by tweeting their support

@MissTeenUSA and by following Miss Rhode Island Teen USA on Facebook and Instagram.

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