Dutch Broadway student wins title at national pageant

When Selene Ferdinand was 4, her parents received a letter from the National American Miss pageant, asking her to interview for the competition. She did, and now, at age 7, Selene has won the pageant’s National Cover Miss competition in the princess age group three times. 

“We keep going back because Selene learned so much,” her mother, Sevitre, said, “and she is very involved in her community and out of the community.”

The pageant encourages girls to do community service, Sevitre explained, and teaches them life skills. As part of the competition, Selene, a Dutch Broadway Elementary School student, had to dress in formal wear, give a personal introduction and be interviewed by a judge. The national competition, which was held in Anaheim, Calif., at the end of November, also requires each participant to fill out an age-appropriate resume.

Contestants can also take part in optional competitions, including the Most Photogenic, Talent, Spokesmodel and Spotlight contests. To earn a Spokesmodel award, Selene spoke about her dream of no child being diagnosed with leukemia, which affected her friend Elijah. “He went from a happy, carefree person running around at recess to someone who has to sit down often,” she told the audience. 

To win the title of National Cover Miss, Selene had to get people to sponsor advertisements in the competition’s booklet, and had “to smile at all times.”

For her hard work, Selene also earned fourth runner-up in the community service competition and placed in the top 10 for her Spokesmodel speech at the national competition. At the state level, she won the talent competition, singing “A Spoonful of Sugar” from “Mary Poppins,” and was named Miss New York Princess.

“I like it because it gives me lots and lots of confidence,” Selene said, “and I used to have no confidence.” 

She added that she enjoyed all of the different events at the national competition, including a pajama party and glow party, in which participants had to wear glow sticks.

Community service also plays a big role in the pageant, which Sevitre said teaches young girls how to give back to their communities — a lesson that she is trying to instill in her children. Since becoming active in the competition, Selene has volunteered with Roslyn Heights-based Sunharbor Manor Nursing, Island Harvest, the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park and the St. Vincent De Paul parish in Elmont. She also helps out at Dutch Broadway Parent Teacher Association events and raises money for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 

“I have her all over the place,” Sevitre joked. 

But her charitable work does not stop when she is at school. There, Selene made raffle baskets for Building Homes for Heroes — an Island Park-based organization that provides veterans with homes, and encourages her classmates to bring in empty plastic bottles for the organization. Dutch Broadway collects the empty bottles and recycles them, donating the proceeds to Building Homes for Heroes. 

The students raised more than $2,000 for the organization from its recycling program last year, and Selene raised $500. This year, she said, her goal is to raise $2,000 by the end of the school year. 

To contribute to her goal, residents can write checks or money orders to Building Homes for Heroes with Selene Ferdinand as the memo, or donate baskets for her to raffles. Recycled bottles can also be dropped off at either Dutch Broadway Elementary School or at Selene’s home, at 494 Kirkman Ave.