Saaya Named A Finalist In National American Miss Florida Pageant

By Christen Caporali

Six year-old Wesley Chapel resident Saaya Felder has been chosen as a state finalist for the National American Miss Florida Pageant that will be held in Orlando on July 8-9. She will be competing for the title of Miss Princess Florida in the 4-6 age division.

The pageant, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Hotel, is for girls ages 4-18 in five different age divisions. Contestants will compete in four overall categories, including formal wear modeling, personal introduction, interview and community service projects. They also have the opportunity to compete in optional contests like Top Model Search, Talent, Actress, etc.

“We learned about the National American Miss Pageant from my sister-in-law, whose two daughters competed for Virginia in 2015,” says Nisha Sharma-Felder, Saaya’s mother. “The pageant is all about confidence and showing inner beauty, so they thought Saaya would be a perfect candidate.”

Through the National American Miss referral program, Saaya received an invitation in the mail to come to try-outs, which included an interview and a photo shoot. She had never competed in a pageant before and Saaya’s family was thrilled to find out that she had been chosen as a finalist.

“We had such a great experience with National American Miss,” Nisha says. “We are going to try and do it every year from now on.”

Saaya’s easiness around the cameras and with her photo shoot did not come as a surprise, as she has been modeling for the Benz Modeling Agency in Tampa since she was only a year old. According to Nisha, she loves to “work it” for the camera.

Saaya says her favorite part about the pageant was meeting the other girls, getting to dress up and model for the judges, and the photo shoot. Her favorite activities outside of modeling include t-ball, tennis, piano and swimming, as well as spending time with her family and friends.

In addition to the National American Miss Florida pageant, Saaya will also compete in the optional Casual Wear and Most Photogenic contests. 

According to Steven Roddy, founder of ThePageantPlanet.com, the National American Miss Pageant System is by far the largest in the nation, beating out Miss America and Miss United States by a long shot. National American Miss places an emphasis on the importance of gaining self-confidence and learning new skills, such as good attitudes about competition, as well as setting and achieving personal goals. It is dedicated to celebrating America’s greatness and encouraging its future leaders while equipping them with the real-world skills they will need to make their dreams come true. The program awards hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships and prizes to recognize and assist the development of young ladies.

If she wins Miss Princess Florida, Saaya will receive a $1,000 cash award, the official crown and banner, a bouquet of roses, a VIP day for 2 at Disneyland and the opportunity to compete in the National American Miss pageant at Disneyland in California on November 19-25. She also will tour Hollywood, and have the chance to represent Florida for the entire year.

For more information about the National American Miss Program, please visit NAMiss.com.