Local gal first runner-up in Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA pageant

Alana Andersen of Lehighton was selected first runner-up in the Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA 2015 pageant. The event was held in Pittsburgh Dec. 7.

Alana is a senior at Lehighton Area High School. She was originally to compete in the 2014 pageant, but was unable to participate due to surgery on her spine for scoliosis in November of 2013. Thanks to teachers from the district, Alana was able to keep current with her studies, and after her recovery, returned to finish her junior year.

Alana is senior class president, as well as secretary of the senior class, a four-year member of the Future Business Leaders of America, and is in the top 10 percent of her class. She is also on the varsity cheerleading squad.

Her future plans include a modeling contract with MMG Talent Agency in New York and a career in fashion design.

She is the daughter of Megan and Bruce Andersen of Lehighton. Her sister Olivia is in her fifth year of pharmacy school at Wilkes University. Her younger brother, Cole, is a freshman at Lehighton Area High School.

"Competing in a beauty pageant is something I never exactly pictured myself doing, but I am so thankful I had the opportunity," Alana says.

"Meeting so many beautiful girls from all over the state was such a rewarding experience that I will remember forever. Making lifelong friends, creating incredible memories, and placing second in my very first pageant, are aspects of my life I will always cherish and I could not have done it without my family and friends."