"When they announced my name, it was the most rewarding thing ever," said Maille McNicholas of Morgantown, who was recently crowned Miss Jr. High United States 2021. "I have been doing pageants since I was 8, and I always wanted to have that moment."

Maille, who is a ninth-grader at Twin Valley High School, won the title during the National United States Scholarship Pageant, held July 19 to 23 in Hershey.

The pageant, which has the motto "Crowns Making an Impact," is a scholarship, community service and platform-based pageant that is designed to showcase the achievements of the contestants, with an emphasis on developing communication skills, self-confidence, leadership skills and community involvement and making a difference. Contestants in various age groups competed in three areas of competition: interview, fashion and evening gown.

"The first phase of the competition was the interview with a panel of four judges," Maille explained. "The next day we had preliminaries; that's when we did fashion and formal wear." The top five contestants were chosen from the preliminaries to compete in the pageant the next day. "You re-competed if you made it through, but everyone got (to be in) the opening number," Maille noted.

In addition to the national title, Maille was also awarded Overall Photogenic, Overall Community Service, the Spirit Award and the Social Media Award for the Junior High Division. She also received the Benevolent Heart Award from the nonprofit organization Beauty, Brains and Heart; the Gold President's Volunteer Service Award; and the title of Jr. High Ambassador of Change.

Maille participated in the pageant's national service project by collecting aluminum pop tabs to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central PA. She placed collection containers at businesses throughout the Morgantown and Elverson areas prior to the pageant, collecting nearly 110,000 pop tabs.

Maille was born with a rare condition called Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome. The condition affects her right leg and causes her to have a large birthmark along with other physical afflictions.

Maille has chosen to highlight her condition as her pageant platform, dubbed Maille's Mission. Through Maille's Mission, she spreads awareness about vascular birthmarks, as well as promotes antibullying efforts for individuals with these associated conditions and other physical differences. Maille is the Global Ambassador for the Vascular Birthmarks Foundation and hosts an interview series published on YouTube called "More Than a Birthmark."

Mallie, who received several cash scholarships and a prize package, said she is looking forward to the upcoming year. "I have a year where I basically do a ton of community service and a lot of appearances and then we do some fun stuff like a trip to Myrtle Beach," she said. "After the year is over, I have to crown the new winner."

For more information about the National United States Scholarship Pageant, visit http://www.NationalUnitedStatesPageant.com. Details about Maille's Mission are available at http://www.facebook.com/mailles.mission.