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2 7 Friday, A ugust 26, 2011 O A K V ILLE B EA V ER w w w .in sid eH A LTO N .co m Cynthia Reason METROLAND TORONTO MEDIA GROUP Lauren Howe may not have come home from Texas earlier this month with the Miss Teen World crown, but the Etobicoke teen con- tinues to prove the judges right for naming her Miss Congeniality by personifying one of the tried and true traits of the title - grace in defeat. "I'm just ecstatic. I was shocked I even made the top 10 - so when I heard my name in the top five, I was just floored," the 18-year-old said, just days after the Aug. 5 pag- eant took place in Houston. "I abso- lutely loved Miss Brazil, the winner. We were best friends the whole week and she's just such a nice girl. She totally deserved to win. She's beautiful." As fourth runner-up in a field of 25 veteran pageant contestants from countries the world over including the ultimate winner, Miss Teen Brazil Gabriele Marinho, 17 - Howe's top five finish at the inter- national pageant could be consid- ered more of a Cinderella story than a defeat. A complete newcomer to the pageant scene just nine months ago, the Appleby College grad (and soon to be McGill University fresh- man) skyrocketed to success by first winning the Miss Teen Ontario crown last November, then the Miss Teen Canada title last month. The secret to her success? "I just wanted to be myself," she said. And it paid off. After a week of rehearsals, social functions and making friends from all over the world, Howe and the other young ladies vying for the Miss Teen World crown competed in a preliminary round of competi- tion in swimsuit and evening gowns. The next day, an international group of judges spent some time getting to know each of the contes- tants in a panel-style interview. Howe shined, and on the day of the final show, last Friday when she was chosen to compete in the top 10. After another round of swimsuit and evening gown competitions, the field was halved again - and still Howe was included among the top contestants. For the final test, each of the top five girls was asked an on-stage question. Howe was ultimately named the fourth runner-up, following closely on the heels of Miss Teen Guatemala as third runner-up, Miss Teen USA as second runner-up and Miss Teen India as first runner-up. Now that she's back in Etobicoke, and the excitement of the pageant has died down somewhat, Howe said she's settling back into her homegrown duties. "Right now I'm focused a lot on what I need to do as Miss Teen Canada, and how I can use that to help people," she said. "The Miss Teen World pageant was an awe- some experience, and if another chance like that comes up again, I'll definitely do it, but right now I'm focused on my duties as Miss Teen Canada." Miss Teen Canada makes impression on world stage WORLD STAGE: Appleby College graduate Lauren Howe took home the Miss Congeniality crown from the Miss Teen World competition in Texas. COURTESY PHOTO I was shocked I even made the top 10 so when I heard my name in the top five, I was just floored. Lauren Howe, Miss Teen Canada