C
ranberry’s Diana
Schulties, 17, recently won
the 2019 local Miss Butler
County Outstanding Teen
Pageant, taking home the
Miss Mercer County title.
Diana, daughter of Jill and Eric
Schulties, is a junior at Seneca Valley
High School where she participates in
a selective chamber choir group called
The Madrigals. In the community,
Diana volunteers at the Butler Humane
Society and Passavant Retirement
Home. She also participates in the Drug
Reality Tour at Hope Lutheran Church,
while maintaining a job at Urban Air
Adventure Park.
“My mother thought it would be
fun to give pageants a try,” says Diana,
who has participated in three pageants
so far. She was a part of the 2018 Miss
Butler County Outstanding Teen, where
she won an award as a non-finalist for
her talent. She also participated in the
2018 Pennsylvania National American
Miss pageant in Harrisburg where she
won second place for her talent. Most
recently, she won the Miss Mercer
County title, awarded at the 2019
Miss Butler County Outstanding Teen
pageant—a pageant for Butler and
Mercer counties.
“I sometimes find it very stressful
competing against so many talented girls
at the pageants, but I am confident in
myself and felt that I was well-prepared
for the Miss Butler County Outstanding
Teen pageant this year,” says Diana. “I
practiced my talent constantly, worked
on my interview skills and even practiced
walking in high heels in my gowns in
order to perfect my stage presence.”
Diana’s pageant talent is playing the
piano. For the competition, she played
the song “A River Flows in You” by
Yiruma.
On the day of the competition, Diana
spent the day with the other contestants
practicing the opening pageant number
and individual talents. In the early
afternoon, she attended her personal
interview with the pageant judges. By
early evening the pageant began, and in
between the different segments of the
contest she had to change outfits, do her
hair and makeup, and try to remain calm.
“Winning the Miss Mercer County
title was awesome—one of the best
experiences of my life!” she says. “It was
truly amazing, the feeling that I had,
knowing that all of the hard work I had
done had finally paid off.”
As Miss Mercer County, Diana will
continue on to the Miss Pennsylvania
pageant in June. She is both nervous
and excited about the opportunity. “It is
very intimidating knowing that I will be
competing against so many experienced
and talented girls from across the state,”
she explains. “It will be my first time to
the state pageant, but I am very excited
to be able to experience this once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity.”
If Diana does not place in the 2019
Miss Pennsylvania competition this year,
she plans on competing again in a local
preliminary pageant, where she hopes to
win another title in order to compete for
the 2020 Miss Pennsylvania title.
“Winning a title offers me a
megaphone to promote my platform,
which is very important to me,” she notes.
“I advocate the adoption of unwanted
animals from shelters rather than
purchasing pets from breeders.”
Participating in and winning pageants
also shows that Diana has confidence
and great communication skills that will
prove vital to her future success. Upon
graduation from high school, she plans to
attend college, majoring in Biology. She
would like to become a veterinarian so
that she can help animals.
“I owe so much thanks to my family
and friends for all of their support and
belief in me,” Diana says. “I believe
pageants are good for our community
because it gives girls the opportunity to
participate in an event that showcases
their communication skills, talents and
stage presence. Pageants foster self-
confidence and express both outward and
inner beauty.” n
CRANBERRY
❘
WINTER 2018
13