Photo courtesy Miss Teenage Alberta Facebook

By Curtis Galbraith

Community

Grande Prairie girl new Miss Teenage Alberta, hopes to be advocate for mental health

May 18, 2023 | 12:37 PM

A 16-year-old St. Joe’s student is the new Miss Teenage Alberta

Shauna Marie Hurley was awarded the title in late April in Calgary, beating 16 other contenders.

“It was, honestly, a surprise to me as there were some … girls who have been in the pageants longer than I have.”

“This was my first pageant. I’d never done anything like this before,” she notes.

Hurley says she wanted to try this so she could advocate for mental health and to be able to “speak for people who can’t speak for themselves.”

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“It’s something I struggled with for a long time and I have family members who have struggled with it as well.”

“It’s something I’m able to speak more on if I’m, I wouldn’t say fully knowledged but knowledged on the subject as I’ve been through it and I’ve watched people go through it.”

Hurley is hoping this helps open up some discussion about mental health and that she can become a role model for others struggling with the same issues.

“Going down there wasn’t just about being pretty and all of that. It was more about if you were able to be confident enough in yourself to show everybody else (that) I’m able to speak for myself and others. I’m able to tell people what I went through.”

Hurley will hold the Alberta crown for a year. She will represent the province in the national pageant July 24 to 29 in Toronto.