Meet Ava Katherine Socarras, first Miss Lexington’s Outstanding Teen
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Meet Ava Katherine Socarras, the first Miss Lexington’s Outstanding Teen 2022. Socarras is 14 years old and resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her hobbies include playing the guitar and ukulele, singing and reading.
“When you think of these competitions, you think of expensive gowns, you think of the price, but also you can get gowns from people who will just lend them to you, you can borrow them, and it doesn’t have to be expensive or a burden. There are so many people willing to help you,” Socarras explained.
She will subsequently award a scholarship in her name: the Ava Katherine Socarras academic scholarship of $200 to whomever has the highest GPA.
Socarras has been a Carolina princess for five years. She began in the organization for the sisterhood to make friends, and the scholarship involved is crucial for her career plan (to become a pediatric surgeon); the organization provides her the platform to do so.
It was late 2021 when Socarras was named Miss Lexington’s Outstanding Teen 2022. Her passion and social impact initiative, another term for a platform in the Miss America system, is Share a Spare, which emphasizes kidney disease. As an ambassador of the National Kidney Foundation of North Carolina, Socarras has attended meetings with nephrologists, kidney disease patients, recipients of kidney implants and kidney donors; it’s all a way to learn more about kidney disease and how to spread awareness about it.
“To me, as a mother, it starts in these little places like this; you talk about it, and you build from there, and you build these connections and it’s just amazing what she can do with it,” Whitney Mason shared.
She has accomplished much since receiving her title, including meeting with the mayor, getting a proclamation for the month of March to be Kidney Disease Awareness Month in Lexington and organizing a princess tea party for the Carolina Princess program, where she invited young girls to talk about kidney disease and to enjoy their time together as kids and getting the community together with her social impact initiative.
“You can always make a change. I am only 14. But I’ve still been able to have fundraisers, and I’ve still been able to do regular teenager things. I’ve still been able to be with friends, but I’m also making a change while I’m doing it. And I think that is so important that people realize that it’s never too early to start working on your dreams, and it’s never too late either,” Socarras assured.
Socarras has visited shops in Lexington to introduce herself and talk about the Miss America organization and how empowering it is for young women. The Lexington community has been welcoming Socarras and her visits.
After being Miss Lexington’s Outstanding for some time, Socarras enjoys meeting new people and seeing how her community service has impacted others for the better.
In the future, Socarras hopes for kidney disease to become a more well-known topic and for neighbors to get their kidneys checked regularly. She also wants community service to be normalized and viewed as a good thing, not a punishment. “You can choose to do community service and see the impact it has made on other people.”
As previously mentioned, Socarras wants to be a pediatric surgeon. In the future, she wants to move north to attend New York University and join its medical program.
This past June, Socarras took the title of Miss Lexington’s Outstanding Teen to Miss North Carolina Outstanding Teen at the High Point Theater. While it is a competition, many factors considered come before the official competition: hard work, community service, social impact initiatives.
The week included plenty of rehearsals, a fitness routine, an on-stage question, talent and finals. Although Socarras did not leave with Miss North Carolina Outstanding Teen, her community is indeed proud of her.
These competitions are not based on appearance and it does not even play any role. What is important is community service, commitment, hard work, academics and so much more.
The next competition is coming up on October 22. Any interested young girls are encouraged to participate. “It is empowering for girls to speak about issues they think that need to be spoken about,” Socarras offered. There will be four divisions in the upcoming competition:
Miss Thomasville (18-26 years old)
Miss Thomasville Outstanding Teen (13-18 years old)
Miss Central Carolina (18-26 years old)
Miss Central Carolina Outstanding Teen (13-18 years old)
To follow Socarras on her journey as Miss Lexington’s Outstanding Teen, visit @Misslexingtonsot on Instagram. For information on the upcoming competition, visit Miss Thomasville/Central Carolina/Lexington Organization on Facebook.
