Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 18, 1995 TAG: 9505190002
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY D. DAVIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
On April 15, at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tenn., Kristel and 48 other contestants competed for the right to represent Virginia in the Miss Teen USA Pageant in August.
"That gives me chills," Kristel said, as she and her sister-in-law, Neri, sat on the couch, watching a video of the pageant for the first time.
Many people thought the turning point came for Kristel during the on-stage interview. As one of the top 12 finalists, Kristel drew Judge 4, who asked her to define success.
Without missing a beat, she answered: "My definition of success is to be everything that you can possibly be."
"Set your goals high and try your best to achieve them. The harder you try, the further you'll get."
The delegates have no idea what question they will be asked, so Kristel did not have a prepared answer.
"What comes out comes out from the bottom of my heart," she said. "If you know what you want and you know who you are, you can say anything."
"Before evening gown, I sat down and prayed that God would be with me and beside me each step I took," she said. "I prayed that he would shine through me."
It is this faith in God and self-assurance that has turned Kristel's life around, she said.
Last summer, Kristel, who goes to Lynn Haven Baptist Church, participated in a youth retreat called "Superweek."
"I rededicated my life to Christ," she said. "I went in not knowing what to expect for my life. I came out knowing which way my life was going. Now, I am at peace with myself."
It was at this retreat that Kristel found a new best friend in Jennifer Harrison, who accompanied the family to the pageant.
"She puts others before herself," Jennifer said. "She's always looking at the positive. If I say something bad about myself, she'll turn right back around and say something good."
Kristel won the swimsuit competition Saturday night, an event she was "working for," she said.
Last March, Kim Johnson, executive director of Miss Virginia and Miss Virginia Teen USA Pageants, said Kristel had the face and the look to do her pageant, but that she had to lose weight, said Joyce Jenkins, Kristel's mother.
So the Jenkinses turned their living room into a weight room where Kristel works out three times a week. Kristel lost 22 pounds for the pageant by working out and eating right, said Jim, her father and fitness coach.
When the time came for Kristel to register for the pageant, she had only two days to raise the $450 sponsorship.
As they had done many times before, family and friends stepped in to help.
"We were able to raise sponsorship in two days because my family believed in her," Joyce said.
Many people focus on the bad things they hear about pageants, without looking at the positive side, Joyce said.
"People are very negative," Joyce said. "If they would see it the way we see it, they would love it. Look what it's done for my daughter."
Kristel earned a long list of prizes, including scholarships, a trip to Nashville for the Miss Tennessee Teen pageant, round trip transportation to the Miss Teen USA pageant in Wichita, Kan., and, of course, the official crown, trophy and banner.
Pageants give girls a way to express themselves and a goal to work toward, Joyce said. Kristel said she never felt pushed into doing pageants and enjoys doing them - even when she loses.
"I don't look bad on a pageant if I don't win," she said. "I look at it as a learning experience."
Kristel's pageant and school lives are separate worlds.
She has been cheerleading for 15 years, and was captain of the cheerleading squad at William Byrd High School this year. She also is a founding member of a student self-esteem and support group.
Kristel's pageant life has not taken anything away from her school work, said Susan Perry, her accounting teacher.
"Kristel is a very level-headed young lady with high goals and priorities," Perry said. "I know she will be successful. She knows what she wants, and she goes after it."
"She's always in my class, helping other students because she's so well-prepared," said Kristel's math teacher, Bobbie Jo Sticher. "She can be a CPA if that's what she wants."
Like a lot of families, the Jenkinses are close-knit and supportive of each other.
Kristel's older brother, Jamie, his wife, Neri, and their daughter, Brooke, live in the basement so that he can save money to buy a house.
Her younger brother, Kevin, who plays baseball, had this to say when Kristel won the competition: "Cool."
As to Kristel's future, she will graduate in June. Then, she will use a $4,000, first runner-up scholarship from the Miss Appomattox Pageant to attend Liberty University, where she will major in accounting.
Eventually, Kristel said she wants to become a CPA, but, for now, she loves to model. Although her goal is to become Miss Universe, she realizes pageants won't last forever.
"You know, with pageants, there's a limit. With modeling, there's no limit. There's a lot you can do," she said.
Kristel has a great chance of at least making the top five at the Miss Teen USA Pageant, Johnson said.
"After they reach that, it's just a matter of luck."
"There's a lot that comes out of these pageants for all of these young women," Johnson said. "It expands your awareness, and you may find out something new about yourself. I see a lot for this young lady."
One lesson Kristel wants people to learn is to accept individuals for who they are. Kristel's platform for the Miss Virginia pageant is teen suicide prevention.
"Two years ago, a friend of mine committed suicide. More and more today, teens think it's the answer. It's not," she said.
"Low self-esteem can lead to suicide. Be yourself. Don't try to be somebody you're not. Everything you do, do it 110 percent," she said.
All Kristel's hard work has definitely paid off.
"I can relive it 10 times over," Jim Jenkins said. "It's not just being proud, it got to my heart. I'm so happy for her."
"If I had to do it over," Joyce Jenkins said, "I would not change one thing."
"No doubt," Jim Jenkins said.
Kristel doesn't like to brag.
But, hey, she IS Miss Virginia Teen USA.
There will be a reception, open to the public, for Kristel on June 1 from 7-9:30 p.m. at the Vinton War Memorial on Washington Avenue. The Miss Teen USA pageant will air Aug. 15 on Channel 10.
Memo: NOTE: Also ran in May 23, 1995 Current.