STANFIELD — A Stanly County resident has been awarded the Miss North Carolina’s Teen 2023 honor, according to a Jan. 18 announcement by the organization.
Stanfield native and 18-year-old Pfeiffer University Honors College student Annika Schneider — formerly Miss Stanly County’s Outstanding Teen 2022 and Miss Metrolina’s Teen 2023 — will succeed Hanley House, the former Miss North Carolina’s Teen who was recently crowned Miss America’s Teen at the Walt Disney Theater in Orlando on Jan. 13.
“Hello North Carolina! My name is Annika Schneider and I am your new Miss North Carolina’s Teen,” Schneider said in a Miss North Carolina’s Teen press release. “I am extremely excited and humbled to be taking on this incredible role. I cannot wait to serve our amazing state for the next six months. Stay tuned this week for more information about me. God’s timing is so so perfect.”
“I am extremely humbled and grateful to be accepting the position,” she added. “When I received the call that I could be Miss North Carolina’s Teen, it was surreal. I cannot wait to embrace the role fully and give North Carolina all that I have to offer!”
Set to hold the title until the June 2024 state competition in High Point, Schneider will be crowned as Miss North Carolina’s Teen 2023 during the Miss Queen City and Miss Metrolina Competition on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 6:00 p.m. at Cox Mill High School, located at 1355 Cox Mill Road in Concord.
Back in June, Schneider competed as Miss Metrolina’s Teen at Miss North Carolina’s Teen, where she won the preliminary evening gown segment, the wellness scholarship award, and placed third runner-up, totaling an achievement of $2,500 in scholarships from the organization.
She also created her Community Service Initiative (CSI) “Read with Me,” a goal that has promoted reading as an educational and therapeutic opportunity for people of all backgrounds.
“In the next six months, I want to expand my CSI, Read With Me, across North Carolina by making appearances in schools across the state,” Schneider said. “I also want to fully support the local titleholders in their journeys while promoting our competition in High Point. I am excited to make the most of the next six months and serve North Carolina.”
Serving as an official state preliminary associated with the Miss America Organization, the Miss North Carolina Organization (MNCO) promotes an emphasis on academics and communication skills as an opportunity for young women to further their academic and career goals.
Miss North Carolina’s Teen is the specified division of the Miss North Carolina and Miss America programs for young women between the ages of 13 and 18. It includes fitness, interview, evening gown and talent competitions on the state level; participants in the program can also earn educational scholarships at every level of competition.
Founded in 2005, Miss America’s Teen has paid nearly $1.5 million in cash scholarships to 200 colleges and universities across the country.