Williamstown resident first American to win Miss Teen Universal

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) – Williamstown’s Emma Kitchen is the 2023 Miss Teen Universal pageant winner. Kitchen won the competition held in Peru over the weekend.

She said this is the first time that the U.S. has entered this pageant.

“So, it was a big responsibility I think to be the first ever U.S.A. contestant. So, I’m really happy with what I did,” Kitchen said. “And I was happy to say that the first time U.S.A. went down I was able to show what the U.S.A. has. And I was able to bring home the crown.”

Kitchen said she has been in pageants since she was 13. She has represented West Virginia three times in three separate pageants from 2020 through 2022. These include Cosmos W.Va. Teen, W.Va. High School America 2021 and Miss Teen W.Va. U.S.A. 2022.

This was her first time representing her country.

“So, it was a new challenge, a new experience. But I was really excited for it,” Kitchen said.

Kitchen said pageantry has prepared her not only for the Miss Teen Universal pageant, but in personal growth.

“I think that pageantry has really prepared me – in my years of local and state pageants – have prepared me for this competition specifically,” Kitchen said. “Because they helped me gain confidence and they helped me realize more of who I was. They challenged me a lot. And I think that it was a lot of personal growth and to help me discover the kind of role model I want to be for little girls.”

Kitchen said both the state and community she is from built her into the person she is today.

“I think that I am extremely lucky to be able to grow up in Williamstown, W.Va. Really, I’m grateful,” Kitchen said. “Because I think they taught me the value of work ethic and they taught me to be humble and never be entitled. And to really work for everything that I want.”

Kitchen is going to school at Fordham University and is majoring in political sciences.

Copyright 2023 WTAP. All rights reserved.