Pageant News Bureau - Miss Teen USA 2002, Page 5

Crystal magnolia

Grace Gore hails from pageant country. She grew up in a town on the rim of the great Mississippi Delta, a place where beauty queens are as common as kudzu. One of her best friends is the younger sister of Miss Teen USA 1987, Kristi Addis.

But Ms. Gore entered the pageant world fairly late, and she still sees herself as an amateur. "The more I get into it," she says, "the more I know I don't know what I'm doing."

Yes, she won Miss Photogenic at her state contest. But she expects she will be better remembered for dropping the plaque, making an awful racket onstage.

Along with the ability to laugh at herself, Ms. Gore has a healthy set of priorities. "There's more to life" than being a beauty queen, she says, and she speaks from experience. Two years ago, she underwent delicate back surgery to correct scoliosis. She was partially incapacitated for what seemed like a very long time. Now fully recovered, she wants to work in the field of early childhood development.

Photos courtesy of Grace Gore

Maybe it's life experience, maybe it's Southern breeding, but Ms. Gore is one of the most poised and mature teenagers we have met in this business. She's more like Princess Grace than Gidget, and we're not just talking about the name. We almost asked to see her ID.

She will be headed to the College of Charleston in the fall. It's a bit of a party town for this sensible young woman, but her interest is more elemental. "I'm a beach girl," she says. "Just get me near the water."

What were we saying about Gidget?

Singin' in the rain

A few years ago, Sheri Drach was visiting the seashore when a mighty storm roared through the area. The athletic and adventurous young beauty wanted to take a close look at it, but her family made her take shelter instead.

Their quick thinking accomplished two things: First, it kept her in one piece so she could win the Miss New Jersey Teen USA crown. Second, it got her interested in becoming a tornado chaser.

That's a career choice you don't encounter every day, sort of a cross between science and sports.

Miss New Jersey Teen USA Sheri Drach

Photos courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP

Ms. Drach (pronounced "Drock") wants to roam the American heartland in midsummer and study the whirling storms that tear up the countryside.

Tornado chasing is fun and educational when the funnel cloud is headed in the other direction. But if the twister does a turn and heads straight for you, that's no day at the beach.

OK, enough about the weather. Whatever odd occupation Ms. Drach may be considering, we expect her to wind up as a singing star. She has a superb voice and a lot experience. And if she misses the howling winds, she can just listen to those fans.

She's already an R&B and pop singer, just looking for her big break. "I spend a lot of time in the studio," she says. She's also a beautiful model, which is a must for a vocalist these days. People who don't like the song can turn down the sound and keep watching. (This doesn't work on radio, unfortunately.)

Songs or cyclones? What a choice. But maybe the girl with the perfect voice can also find her perfect storm. It happened in "The Wizard of Oz."

A ravishing Rhode Islander

Alysha Castonguay, Miss Rhode Island Teen USA, has been turning PNB viewers' heads for months. Click here to jump back to our earlier profile.

August 2002South Padre Island, Texas

Crystal magnolia

Singin' in the rain

A ravishing Rhode Islander

August 2002
South Padre Island, Texas