By Andi Murphy
http://www.lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES >> After being named runner-up last year, Aundria Littlejohn, 17, knew she had to run for Miss New Mexico Teen USA again. "I decided I wanted to do it again because I wanted to win," she said.
And she did.
On Jan. 4, Littlejohn was crowned Miss New Mexico Teen USA by former pageant winner, Jacqueline Cai at the Las Cruces Convention Center, scoring the highest in the interview, swimsuit and evening gown portions of the competition. For the interview she was asked what she would do with her title if she won. Littlejohn responded she would make her family proud, campaign against bullying and give New Mexico the best representation possible. The second question was whether she thought Miley Cyrus was a good role model to which she responded, "she does what she wants and from that we can take away, as women of today, that we can do what ever we want -- not to that extreme."
She also wore a pink two-piece bikini for the swimsuit portion and a royal blue, double-sleeved evening gown with white rhinestones across the top and a deep back. The judges looked at 30 teens in their best bikinis and dresses, evaluating posture, fitness and elegance. When numbers were tallied and Littlejohn was announced the winner, her legs gave out and she sank to the floor.
"It was really crazy," she said. She gave a hug to runner-up, Saryn Swanson of Bernalillo, and took her first walk as Miss New Mexico Teen USA. For the rest of the year, she will be touring the state as an ambassador of Miss USA to attend school assemblies, charitable events and special events, such as the Governor's Ball, she said. She will have the perfect opportunity to reach thousands of grade school students across the state to talk to them about bullying, a subject she's familiar with.
"I've gone through that (bullying) since middle school where I found that kids -- for some reason -- found me easy to pick on," she said. "A lot of kids are not telling their parents. I want them to understand that they can get help and things will be OK." She would like to focus on the victims of bullying and make their lives better by speaking directly to them and letting them know that bullying is not only physical -- it's emotional, too -- and it does not have to stop anyone from doing anything they want to do, she said.
Littlejohn has moved around a bit and came from Las Cruces by way of Arizona and Los Angeles. The family follows their father R. Todd Littlejohn, who is a football coach, and currently with Aggie football.
Aundria Littlejohn, a senior at Centennial High School, has already been accepted to NMSU, but still has her options open to attend other colleges. She hopes to become a political campaign manager or a sports broadcaster because she loves sports, especially football, she said. She's a big San Francisco 49ers fan and loves to root for teams that her father's players are playing on, she said.
The rest of the Littlejohns are Toi-Yan, mother, and little sisters Aniya, 13, and Ahria, 10, both of whom want to join pageants like their big sister, Aundria said. "We're very proud of both our ladies, both our winners," said Curtis Rosemond, president of CR Productions, the company that produces the Miss USA pageant. The 2014 Miss New Mexico USA is Kamryn Blackwood, 21, from Farmington. Her campaign is AIDS and breast cancer awareness, Rosemond said.
Both New Mexico pageant winners will go on to the national Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants some time in August. From there, pageant winners will go to the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss New Mexico pageants are also charity events and the organizers and contestants raised $7,000 for the Tough Enough To Wear Pink campaign and $79,000 in the last 14 years for dozens of local nonprofit organizations, Rosemond said.
The Miss USA pageant is a product of Miss Universe and is owned by NBC and Donald Trump. It was founded in 1952.
