Confidence; the key to success | News, Sports, Jobs

Jasmine Wright served as the 2015 Little Miss Belpre and is now the 2021 Teen Miss Belpre

BELPRE– The statement “when you have confidence you can do anything,” by Sloane Stephens is something Belpre High School freshman Jasmine Wright (Madison), 14, is working to prove.

Although young, Wright has many ambitions, and she is on track to conquer them all.

She is a Straight A student, in all honors courses and is tackling College Credit Plus courses through Washington State Community College.

After high school, Wright plans to study law and work toward becoming a prosecuting attorney or a judge.

“At eight, the field of law sparked my interests and then I started looking into future jobs,” she said. “I want to defend others who have been harmed, and continue to use my platform to help others.”

Jasmine Wright served as the 2015 Little Miss Belpre and is now the 2021 Teen Miss Belpre

One way she is working toward conquering this goal is through Belpre’s Mock Trial Team.

During a mock trial, students spend the day questioning witnesses, making rebuttals and objecting over a provided case.

Wright explained that they gather evidence for one side, while another school works the opposite angle.

“It has been several years since Belpre has had a Mock Trial team and we were fortunate to have a great core of students restart the team,” said Jeff Greenley, Belpre Superintendent and the team’s legal advisor. “Jasmine served as one of our attorneys and showed great poise and legal acumen through the process.”

Greenley said that she has also been instrumental in helping mentor the junior high students as they work towards their first competition next month.

Jasmine Wright modeling her favorite dress at Elizabeth Michaels in Vienna.

“She has a bright and cheerful disposition and is willing to help in any way – we are so proud of her work this year,” he said.

In school she is also the freshman student council president, cheers and sings in the choir.

“In student council we assist with different projects to keep students involved in school culture,” she said.

An example Wright gave was when she worked with others to organize a student vs. staff volleyball event before Christmas break.

“I enjoy many parts of student council; a lot of hard work is put into fundraising and planning, but it is so worth it to see others enjoy themselves at those events after the fact,” she said.

Jasmine Wright with some of her Mock Trial Team. Riley Brumbaugh (14), Wright (14), Eric Sinnett (14), Macy Collins (14), Conner Elder (16).

Wright has participated in both cheer and choir for three years now.

“I am so thankful for the time management skills I have developed through cheer,” she said.

Wright explained that unlike other sports, cheer is two seasons and as such is a HUGE dedication.

“Jazzie is a hardworking young woman and is an overall wonderful person to be around,” said Kirsten Hannah, Belpre Varsity Cheer Coach. “As the cheerleading coach, I am able to see Jasmine push herself and her teammates to not only become better cheerleaders, but also better people… She is someone you can count on to bring you out of your bubble and put a smile on your face.”

Outside of school, Wright enjoys competing in pageants, volunteering and dress modeling as an ambassador with Elizabeth Michaels in Vienna.

Kristen Hannah, the Belpre Varsity Cheer coach stands with Jasmine Wright and Sarah Epperly, the Belpre JV cheer coach for a photo

“I have been in pageants since I was a baby,” said Wright. “Pageants have taught me to be confident in myself and comfortable with who I am. If the judges crown me, it is for exactly who I am; I am not perfect but I am not pretend, and I continuously strive to be worthy of the titles I am awarded.”

Among some of the titles are: 2015 Little Miss Belpre, Teen Miss Belpre (her current title), 2019 Mid Ohio Valley Multi-Cultural Festival Preteen.

“I think that pageants have a lot of stigma around them because on TV all you see is glitz and drama, but in my experience the people involved are nice, in fact I have met some of the best people through pageants and I will continue to do them as long as I can.”

Wright said that the 2019 title of Mid Ohio Valley Multi-Cultural Festival Preteen was special to her, because that year her mother Jessica Madison won the title 2019 Mrs. Mid Ohio Valley Multi-Cultural Festival.

“It was really fun to be able to compete and reign alongside my mom,” she said. “Obviously she has always been there by my side, but that time we could do parades and other pageant duties together.”

It was noted that they were the first mother and daughter to reign together for the festival.

Similar to pageants, Wright said that being able to model as an ambassador for Elizabeth Michaels in Vienna also helped to build that confidence.

“It is a fun time getting to model for them,” she said. “I like doing it because I feel like the best version of myself , and have met other girls with whom I have made lasting friendships.”

Going hand in hand with her love for pageants and modeling is her love of service.

“I have volunteered with many people doing different tasks, but some that really stand out in my mind include Safetytown (where she spends two weeks in the summer teaching and bonding with kindergarteners); handing out food with area ministries; bringing donations to people (such as blankets to nursing-homes and teddy bears to officers for children on calls); helping with the ‘Better schools for Belpre’ campaign and the Wood County Society Telethon,” she said.

She collected the blankets in November to distribute to nursing homes and will be collecting the teddy bears this spring.

“A lot of the people in the nursing homes said they hadn’t seen their families in a while, and I was happy to have been able to surprise them and brighten their day for a little,” Wright said.

The Wood County Society Telethon is being held Sunday.

“Every year, the ‘Be the CHANGE’ Telethon serves as the Wood County Society’s largest fundraising campaign,” Wright explained. “Those who donate help to provides the opportunity for individuals to participate in programs such as Camp ECHO, Wood County Society Summer Speech, Adapted Aquatics, American Sign Language Classes, Wood County Society Temple Challenge, the Mid-Ohio Autism Network, benefit from the resources at the new collaborative art center, the Artbeat Studio and several additional resources offered in our community including the Special Assistance Program and Assistive Technology Program.”

Wright said that some of these opportunities have really opened her eyes to different topics, an example being with the ministries, where many of those needing assistance were parents just trying to feed their kids.

Wright talked about how when the pandemic hit, she remembered hearing about all the meal assistance the schools and churches were putting together, and that made her realize that there are probably many of her peers who that are included in the hardships.

With her future ambitions in mind, her volunteer work with a city campaign helps to paint the full picture of who Wright is.

“I think it is very important for the youth to get involved in and stay up to date not just the ‘big elections’ but local elections, to help their communities thrive,” she said.

Madeline Scarborough can be reached at [email protected]

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