The next contestant to be featured as part of our series, “The Road to Miss Virginia’s Outstanding Teen 2018,” is the reigning Miss State Fair of Virginia’s Outstanding Teen 2018, Alexis Watkinson. No stranger to pageants, Alexis is ready to bring her flute-playing talents to the stage during the MAOTeen VA pageant in a few days! Continue reading to learn more about Alexis and her journey to the crown!

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For those who may not be familiar with you, tell our readers a bit about yourself and your background within the pageant world.
Thank you for extending this opportunity to me to share with your readers! I’ve competed in some other pageant systems, but I love the Miss Virginia system because of the excellent training and director/volunteer support that is offered. Best of all, this system provides the grooming and training for anyone who hopes to represent her state at Miss America one day.

The four points of the Miss America crown represent: service, scholarship, style, and success. Which one is the most important to you and why?
To me, the most important point is service. I think that anyone who wants to represent her local title or her state in this system must genuinely have and be proud to exhibit a true service heart. It is those acts of service that inspire anyone who is watching to be a better person; to share and care for those in their communities; to lean into being a better example themselves. Let’s be real: The whole world is watching and the opportunity to positively influence so many is a responsibility to be taken very seriously!

During Isabella’s reign, what is one characteristic you’ve seen her bring forth as Miss Virginia’s Outstanding Teen, and which do you hope to emulate if you were to win the title?
There is no doubt that Isabella has a true service heart and is dedicated to supporting and influencing the young ladies who are watching her. Isabella uses her webpage and her postings to show that she is regularly out making appearances and helping those in her community. Her platform, Volunteer Match, was a perfect way for her to share the secret to her success with anyone who’s watching!


What have you learned from our current Miss Virginia’s Outstanding Teen, Isabella, that can help you be a better outstanding teen?
Isabella was clever to partner with Volunteer Match to support her platform; in that same way, I’ve become an Ambassador for Achieving Positive Thinking Worldwide. Taking a chapter out of Isabella’s book, I found it is helpful to partner with a national organization.  Whether you are drawing from their materials or supporting their fund-raising efforts that experience will help you to extend your platform’s reach.

Please share with our readers your platform and why you’ve chosen to advocate for it.
My platform is the Power of Positive Thinking. When I was preparing a public speech on a topic of my choice a few years ago, I identified with the concept of positive thinking. My research turned up a lot of adult material on this topic, but not enough materials that teens could easily access. I wanted to help bridge this gap and share the knowledge. Especially in today’s times, where young people might not feel safe at school, it is empowering to know that you can control how you feel each day. You can retrain your brain and adopt a positive mindset each day!

If you were to win the title of Miss Virginia’s Outstanding Teen, how do you hope to better educate your generation about your platform and the importance it holds?
I would be able to use the MVOTeen title to expand on the number of events and presentations that I can do at schools, community and educational workshops, senior living facilities and children hospitals, and through my charity fund raising events.  I would also be able to combine with my efforts to support a national charity called Achieving Positive Thinking Worldwide, where this year I am participating in some of their annual events that raise money and awareness for this cause. I have already used some of their materials for my own workshops as well. In addition, it might make sense for me to prepare some elementary school workshops, to take this message to some of the younger students across Virginia. Elementary school girls are my target audience for my Girl Scout Gold Award project, so I think I could easily expand my platform’s reach by targeting a broader audience in that way.


Tell us about your talent and the decisions you made in proceeding with this talent.
I have been playing the flute for over 10 years! Last year, I founded a flute choir, Show the Flow, and we perform for audiences in senior living centers, local malls around the holidays and anywhere else where people will enjoy a positive vibe from our music! I was also a finalist in Ashburn’s Got Talent last fall. When I perform my solos, I also coordinate some dance moves with the music, a little like Lindsey Stirling (violin), but this requires extra effort with the flute (with the breathing), so that I do not become winded or light headed in the process!

Having been in pageants and after winning a local title, what advice do you have for those who want to start competing in the MAO system?
Get started today! Whether you’re a Princess, a Teen in Training, an Outstanding Teen or a Miss, you will benefit greatly from participating and practicing your skills in this amazing system. The entry fees are affordable and the support system in place from local directors, board members and volunteers is the best you can find – and it’s free!

Because of the way media and certain television networks have portrayed the lifestyle of pageantry, there is a preconceived notion of what a pageant girl is like. How do you think that being a part of the Miss America Organization you are able to break that barrier?
I honestly believe that by being sincere, genuine, hard-working and dedicated to serving our communities and causes, we will wash away any unwelcome, preconceived notions about pageant girls. We all need to be the points of light that will lead the way for others who want to follow.


Regardless of who wins the title of Miss Virginia’s Outstanding Teen, what is one goal which you have for them, which you hope they will accomplish during their reign?
One important goal for our next Miss Virginia’s Outstanding Teen should be to find new partnering opportunities to expand fund-raising for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. With help from my family and by reaching out to family friends who helped me raise over $2,000 for CMNH in 2017, I am pursuing a few new potential business partners for a Spirit Day to raise money and awareness for CMNH. I hope that my sister queens, teens and princesses will help drive customers to these new business partners, so that they will lean into Spirit Days each year, the same as Dairy Queen and Sweet Frog do.

Bravura is an artistic word for exceptional. Tell our readers what makes you “bravura.”
Knowing that I have the Power of Positive Thinking and being able to share that with so many young people – that’s what makes me ‘bravura.’ Especially in today’s times, when students might feel concerned about safety in school, and these scared feelings can really impact how you start each day. Knowing that you are in control, and you have the ability to make each day a great one is totally up to you. That’s empowering and I love sharing that knowledge with everyone.

Where can fans follow you on social media?
On Facebook, you can easily find me – Alexis Watkinson, and I have a positive page there too. And my Instagram is alexisthinkspositive. My website is www.wethinkpositive.org.

Do you have any final words for the readers of Bravura Magazine?
One of my important messages is, “Never underestimate YOUR impact!” Sometimes the smallest actions you take will bring about a positive change that will be so much more meaningful than you could have imagined! So, don’t be shy. Take those action steps you are thinking about and watch the change start to happen.