Kendra Hale is an only child who grew up in a small town in rural southwestern Virginia called, Christiansburg. She graduated as valedictorian from Christiansburg High School and the Southwest Virginia Governor’s School.  Kendra recalls that in her hometown, pageants were not common and many people didn’t understand the different aspects of being involved in pageants such as going after scholarships, being goal-oriented, and being of service. She believes in “leading by example” so she worked hard to prove to everybody that pageants were filled with smart, accomplished girls that were working hard on achieving their dreams.Kendra says, “I wanted to be an inspiration to young girls everywhere by showing that your circumstances and surroundings don’t define who you are or who you will become.” Kendra’s pageant journey started when she was 13 or 14 and shortly thereafter became involved with the Princess America pageant system. She first won the title of Princess America’s District of Columbia Teen, and eventually she became Princess America’s District of Columbia Miss.Kendra demonstrated her pageant promise early on, and began earning titles and awards almost instantly. During her pageant experience with Princess America she won the “Princess America’s Difference Maker Award”, as well as the “Princess America’s Leadership and Academic Excellence Award”.Once this fresh faced Virginia girl got bitten by the pageant bug, there was no turning back and soon she had earned her 1st national title, “Outstanding Miss of America 2016-2017”.Kendra admits that her introduction to the world of pageantry was difficult because she really had no frame of reference for competing, nor did she know anyone who competed. But, she didn’t let her lack of knowledge intimidate her or make her feel inadequate. She used all the tools and resources that she could find, and she asked for help.“Since I was a latecomer, I didn’t know a lot about what was going on and I had to work really hard to learn everything I needed to know. I utilized resources, such as Pageant Planet and other publicly available information, to learn about different organizations and competitions. I worked with incredible people to learn the right skills.  I didn’t let my age or lack of knowledge stop me.”  This week’s featured spotlights are: Omnia Garment BagPageant Prep HelpShop Pageant Dresses