New Lenox Teen Wins Miss Teen USA Globe

NEW LENOX, IL — New Lenox teenager and Lincoln-Way Central senior Maddy Rafalski will travel to China later this year to compete for Miss Teen Globe International. Rafalski is the current Miss Teen Globe title holder.

Rafalski first competed for the title of Miss Teen Globe Illinois in March 2018.

"When this opportunity came about I truly thought I had a disadvantage to the others I was competing against, because pageantry is something I had no experience in and have never done before," Rafalski said.

Participants competed in three different categories: evening gown, active wear and interview.

Rafalski was crowned the first Miss Teen Globe Illinois at the competition, and started to prepare for the national pageant in Detroit.

" When I thought things couldn’t get any better, I was then crowned Miss Teen Globe United States," she said.

Next up, Rafalski will travel to Shanghai in July to compete for Miss Teen Globe International. Rafalski said one of her goals as Miss Teen Globe USA is to raise money for pediatric cancer centers and families struggling to keep up with expenses.

"Early this year I plan to travel to Texas to bring care bags, blankets, and other necessities to the largest children’s hospital in the US," Rafalski said. "I know there isn’t much you can do to help cure cancer, but there sure is little things you can do to ease the pain. I think the most rewarding thing about all of this is seeing the bright smiles on the kids faces in the end."

Miss Globe United States is a yearly pageant and modeling competition. According to the pageant's website, the competition is held by Haggerty & Associates management group. The competition aims to discover talented women to become future stars in the global entertainment industry. There are no height or weight requirements for the pageant.