Parsippany Teen Competing In Miss Jr Teen NJ Pageant

PARSIPPANY, NJ — A Parsippany teenager is set to take the stage next month as she competes in the Miss New Jersey Junior Teen pageant in New Brunswick.

Tabitha Gessling, 15, is a rising sophomore at Parsippany High School. When she's not attending classes, she dances for Generations of Dance, where she's earned high gold and elite gold trophies at national dance competitions.

She also acts, having been in the play "Love Tugs and Shadow Kids" about the local adoption system at the Daress Theater in Boonton.

Gessling will bring that awareness to the pageant stage; mom Bonnie Gessling told Patch that Tabitha "believes in bringing awareness to the public about children in the adoption system."

"Competing in the Miss Junior Teen NJ pageant means being a positive role model and inspiring other girls to follow their dreams, and to never give up, and that beauty is not only on the outside but also on the inside," Tabitha told Patch.

The pageant will be held at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick on August 13 and 14.

Image via Bonnie Gessling