Jenna McLaughlin crowned Miss Massachusetts’ Outstanding Teen 2022.

Jenna McLaughlin of Medford, a 17-year-old junior at The Cambridge Matignon School, was named Miss Massachusetts’ Outstanding Teen 2022. The 22nd annual competition was held Sunday April 10th at White’s of Westport. Ten candidates from across the Commonwealth competed for the title and over $6,700 was awarded to the candidates in scholarships. Tess O’Riordan of Canton, the outgoing titleholder, crowned her successor before an audience of 250 attendees.

McLaughlin, who competed as Miss Boston’s Outstanding Teen, will compete at the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen competition in August. As Miss Massachusetts’ Outstanding Teen, she will receive $3,000 in scholarships and various awards and gifts from competition sponsors. At the national competition, she will have the opportunity to compete for thousands of dollars more. McLaughlin will dedicate her year of service to her personal Social Impact Initiative, “Together We Stand: Encouraging Kindness and Perseverance in the Next Generation of Leaders”. Jenna is a published author of the book “Roxanne Takes a Stand” which is a children’s book about bullying, teamwork, and empowerment. “Using my book “Roxanne Takes a Stand”, I will continue spreading my message of kindness, empathy, and empowerment with students across the Commonwealth.” In addition to the $3000 scholarship for placing first, she received an additional $100 scholarship for winning the Overall Talent Award. She will also promote the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen’s national platform, The Miss America Foundation which raises scholarship money for young women ages 13-26 who participate in local, state, and national competitions. At the state competition, the 10 candidates collectively raised nearly $2,000 for The Miss America Foundation.

At The Cambridge Matignon School, Jenna is a member of the National Honor, the Headmaster’s List, is two-time recipient of the Spanish Excellence Award, and the Academic Scholarship Merit Award for all 3 years of high school. She maintains a 4.0 GPA and is enrolled in several honors level classes. She is the founder of the Girls’ Empowerment Program, serves on the school’s mock trial team and is the head researcher of the Cambridge Matignon Garden Club. An accomplished pianist, singer, and songwriter, she has also had a lead role in a regional commercial, acted alongside Chris Evans in the TV series Defending Jacob, and has performed in many musical theatre productions in the Greater Boston area. Her future plans are to attend college and law school and become a criminal law attorney. She is the daughter of John and Janice McLaughlin of Medford. For the talent portion of the competition, she performed a vocal to “California Dreamin”.

Left to Right: Emma Gibney (3rd RU); Na’Shajia Monteiro (1st RU); Jenna McLaughlin (MMAOTeen 2022); Hannah Lima (2nd RU); Laila Hosnander (4th RU) Photo Credit: V2 Productions

The Miss Massachusetts’ Outstanding Teen competition includes teenagers from ages 13 to 18. Other winners received scholarship awards and a plaque. They included:

First runner-up was Na’Shajia Monteiro, 15, of New Bedford. A sophomore at Old Rochester Regional High School she competed as Miss Lakeville’s Outstanding Teen. She received a scholarship of $1000 and was the recipient of the $100 Eveningwear/On-Stage Question award. Na’Shajia was also the winner of the Pageant Planet’s Online People’s Choice Award. She received half of the money she raised for a total of $309. For the month leading up to the competition, voters could choose their favorite candidate and vote for her online to be eligible for this scholarship award.

Second runner-up and the recipient of a $750 scholarship was Hannah Lima, 17, of Dartmouth, a junior at Dartmouth High School and a dual enrollment student at Bristol Community College. She was the recipient of the Millie Perry Community Service Award in the amount of $250. This award was judged by an outside panel and was named in honor of the late mother of the State Teen Director Donna Perry Klamkin. It was funded by several former Miss Massachusetts’ Outstanding Teen State titleholders. She also received a $250 scholarship as the winner of the Scholastic Award. She competed as Miss New Bedford’s Outstanding Teen.

The third runner-up was Miss Worcester County’s Outstanding Teen Emma Gibney who received a $500 scholarship. She is a 16-year-old junior at New Bedford High School and was also voted by her peers as the winner of the Spirit of MMAOTeen.

Fourth runner-up was Laila Hosnander, a 14-year-old 8th grade student Wilbraham Middle School. She resides in Hampden and was awarded a $250 scholarship. Laila was also the winner of a $100 scholarship as the Top Fundraiser for the Miss America Foundation. She raised a total of $720 for this scholarship foundation. She competed as Miss Western Massachusetts’ Outstanding Teen.

An additional award recipient was:

Mia Mitchell, 17, of Kingston is a junior at Silver Lake Regional High School and was the Advertising Award winner and received a $100 scholarship. She is the current Miss Bristol County’s Outstanding Teen.