Fort Mill High golfers aim to ace scholarship pageant

The combination of golf and beauty is leading to a bright future for two Fort Mill High students.

Teammates on the Fort Mill girls’ golf team, Lauryn Chadwick and Alex Quinn, will be competing next week in the USA National Miss Scholarship Pageant in Boca Raton, Fla. Chadwick, who is the reigning Miss Palmetto State Teen Queen, and Quinn, reigning Miss Palmetto State Jr. Teen Queen, are competing for thousands of dollars in college scholarships and prizes.

Chadwick, 16, a rising senior, and Quinn, 15, a rising junior, played golf together for the Yellow Jackets, but neither knew her teammate also competed in pageants until bumping into each other at one.

“We didn’t realize we both did pageants,” Chadwick said. “It just never came up. So it was nice to say we had a friend.”

Quinn said they became instant friends.

Despite the golfing scene and the pageant life being worlds apart, Quinn said there are some comparisons between the two.

“It is a little different because you are on a team with golf, so you aren’t just looking out for yourself,” she said. “However, there is a lot of pressure in both of them with (golf) tournaments and pageants.”

Chadwick said the one thing she likes about playing golf is that it keeps her calm, despite the competitiveness involved on the high school level.

“It is really peaceful for me,” she said. “There is a lot of pressure and a lot to keep up with.”

Quinn said her fondness for the game is passed down from within her family.

“I have been playing since I was six years old,” she said. “My whole family plays golf, my brother, my grandparents, and my dad. I just started at a young age and I love it.”

For Chadwick, golfing and pageants also helps to stir that competitive fire. While still in second grade, Chadwick knew she wanted to compete in pageants after seeing a trophy for one.

“I said, ‘mom, I want this’ and the next thing you know I am in one,” she said.

Chadwick has been competing in pageants for eight years, and Quinn has been in them for the past six.

USA National Miss is awarding over $3 million in scholarships and prizes. Both Fort Mill girls are trying to help pay for their way through college by competing in pageants.

Chadwick already knows where she will be going after high school – North Carolina A&T State University.

“The scholarships do add up over time,” Chadwick said.

“The more you do the pageants, specifically scholarship pageants; they can go into a college fund. That is what I have been doing. I have basically almost paid for my college tuition.”

Quinn still has some time to make up her mind about a college. She said she will be taking some tours at places like the University of South Carolina and College of Charleston this year. Quinn said the pageants are helping prepare her for college.

“Not only have the scholarships been useful for college, but the interviewing skills we have learned,” Quinn said. “You get a lot of practice for what a college interview or job interview will be like.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2016 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Fort Mill High golfers aim to ace scholarship pageant."