Hundreds of people sit in silence as they await the crowning of the new Miss Texas Teen. Remaining on the stage hand in hand, the two finalists stand anxiously listening for the final result.

“And your new Miss Texas Teen is…Karlie Hay!”

The newly crowned Miss Texas Teen, Hay rushed back home to spread the news.

“I was excited to come back to Tomball and share the good news with all of my friends and family,” Hay said.

Pageants aren’t all they seem to be, with months of preparation, coaches for everything from walking to speaking, dresses, makeup and hair dresser, and not to mention the nerve racking suspense leading up to the pageant

“I went in there with an open mind,” Hay said. “I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst, it’s just what the judges are looking for. I did my best and I hoped that that was enough.”

Behind the beauty scene in her spare time, Karlie enjoys talking to kids who have been affected by the use of alcohol and drugs at home and hopes to use her title to influence young girls who look at her as a role model.

“Those opportunities of going out and being helpful, using my title as a good thing not just your average beauty queen, that’s whats important to me,” she said. “I love pageants, I think that they’re addicting, and like any other sport you have an adrenaline rush and you have to work for it. It’s not just looking pretty.”

Hay is excited to continue raising awareness of drug and alcohol abuse. Watch for her as she travels to the Bahamas to compete for the Miss Teen USA pageant.