Community Corner

Milan's Cassidy Nugent Wins Miss Oakland County Outstanding Teen Title

The pageant, part of the Miss America program, was held Saturday afternoon in Farmington Hills.

Cassidy Nugent, 15, is no stranger to the pageant world.

But the Milan resident said she still felt a rush of adrenaline when she was named the 2011 Miss Oakland County Oustanding Teen on Saturday afternoon at the Costick Center in Farmington Hills. Emcees for the event were 2010 title holder Morgan Stocker of St. Clair Shores and Miss Michigan 2009 Nicole Blaszczyk of Novi.

A student at Milan High School, Nugent competed in the Miss Michigan Outstanding Teen pageant, held June 17 in Muskegon, finishing in the top 10. She held the title of Miss Monroe County Outstanding Teen in 2010, and won the Little Miss Michigan title in 2007.

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"It's very exciting," Nugent said after Saturday's pageant. "You get to do so much with your platform, and so much in the community."

Her talent is jazz dance, and Nugent's platform encourages young people to get involved in community service. She is an active volunteer, serves on the student council at her school, and in her spare time, enjoys riding and caring for her horse.

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"Dance, horseback riding and community service," she said, "that's my thing."

Cassidy is the daughter of Traci Nugent-Heath and Scott Nugent; she has two brothers, Mason Heath, 3, and Colton Nugent, 10.

Six contestants vied for the Miss Oakland County Outstanding Teen Title. The others included:

  • Dakota Vansicklen, 14, of Highland
  • Denali Katnik, 15, of Howell, 2nd Runner Up
  • Hannah Dell, 13, of St. Clair Shores, Miss Congeniality
  • Brianna Lee, 16, of White Lake
  • Ursula Fuller, 15, of Detroit, 1st Runner Up

The 2011 Miss Michigan Outstanding Teen Marissa Cowans, 17, of St. Clair Shores, made her first public appearance at the event, after being crowned June 17 in Muskegon.

Cowans said she competed in the Little Miss program, and got involved with the Outstanding Teen competition after Stocker encouraged her to enter.

"(We) are really good friends," Cowans said, "and we got to share the whole year together."

Cowans, who attends Lakeview High School, is preparing for her trip to Orlando, FL, where she'll compete in the Aug. 20 Miss American Outstanding Teen pageant. Preliminaries are held Aug. 16-18. To read more about her title win, .

In addition to her crown, a Miss America Outstanding Teen pin and entry fee to the state pageant, Nugent receives four hours of consulting services from Rubicon Management Corporation, which provides speech coaching.

The Oakland County Miss Oustanding Teen pageant is "open"; contestants do not have to be county residents to enter.


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