Principe turns in ‘truly awesome’ performance at national competition

By PETE FONTAINE

For Johnston’s Tara Principe, competing in the prestigious Distinguished Young Women’s National Finals in Mobile, Ala., was an experience she’ll cherish for a lifetime.

Although Principe didn’t win the national title – which went to Alaska’s Maire Nakada, along with $50,000 in form of a college scholarship – the 17-year-old daughter of David and Denise Principe and recent La Salle Academy graduate represented Rhode Island “extremely well,” according to co-state pageant chairpersons Sue Parillo and Katelynn Kei.

“Tara was absolutely awesome,” said Parillo, the head coach of Johnston High School’s varsity cheerleading squad and a health and physical education teacher at Winsor Hill Elementary School. “She performed various routines that received rave reviews from judges, contestants and the audience. Everyone connected with the recent state finals was really, really proud of Tara during the nationals.”

Principe, meanwhile, offered: “When I was preparing to leave for the 58th Distinguished Young Women’s National Finals, there was no way I could have anticipated how the two weeks in Mobile would affect me … Even though we were technically competing against each other, the atmosphere when we were together was anything but competitive.”

The 2015 Rhode Island winner said she “made lasting friendships with girls from all over the country and could not be more confident that Maire – our 2015 national winner – will represent us well. I can’t wait to be back in Mobile at the University of South Alabama in September.”

Principe’s first-ever college roommate will be the competition’s South Carolina champion. Moreover, she says, “I have already decided to go back to the 59th national finals as a ‘has been’ next year!”

This year’s national runner-up in Mobile was Kadee Beasley, who won a $25,000 scholarship, while Kaddie Miller, the second runner-up from Kentucky, took home a $10,000. In all, seven other finalists won $3,500 scholarships, and the entire national finals gave out $150,000 in scholarships.

All 50 of the 2015 state winners were judged by a special panel made up of people from the fields of education, public relations and travel. The finalists competed in the areas of talent, physical fitness, self-expression, scholastics, and an interview.