MADISON – As the reigning Miss Madison Teen USA 2022, Rosalee Mahdi will represent Madison in the upcoming Miss Alabama Teen USA pageant and promote her belief in language study for children.

Gouge Performing Arts Center at Auburn University will serve as the pageant venue. After preliminaries on Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m., the finals on Jan. 15 will determine the winner.

“I had always admired girls that competed in pageants, specifically the Miss Universe system, and toyed with competing for a long time,” Rosalee said. “Last year, I decided to put myself out there in my very first pageant” in January 2021.

“I loved meeting all the girls and seeing how kind everyone is. I didn’t place in the top 16, but I was hooked on the culture,” Rosalee said.

Rosalee made lifelong friendships with highly accomplished women in her age group. Networking is one of her favorite aspects of competing.

To help Rosalee reach the Top 16, vote for her at https://www.missalabamausa.com/contestants-teen.

Rosalee will compete with 46 young women. The winner will compete for Miss Teen USA.

The Miss Alabama Teen USA pageant has three sections for judging: Interview; Activewear / Swimwear; and Evening Gown. The top five will face onstage questions.

For interviews, Rosalee anticipates questions about her personality, platform and reasons to aspire for the title. Her platform, TALK or Teaching Accelerated Languages to Kids, follows Rosalee’s passion for foreign languages.

She didn’t have options to properly study languages until her freshman year, but she wants youngsters to learn early. “I believe children should have access to foreign languages starting in elementary school, and my platform revolves around advocating for that change,” Rosalee said.

In that effort, she reads books in foreign languages to Horizon Elementary School students and volunteered for Liberty Middle School’s language camp. “The kids loved hearing about foreign languages and asked me all about the languages I’ve studied,” Rosalee said. “I have met with Rep. Terri Collins of Decatur about (her) bill for Seal of Biliteracy.”

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many people are eager to aide a woman with a plan and a passion,” Rosalee said. Initially, her journey to augment language study “seemed daunting and impossible,” but many people have listened and helped.

If Rosalee wins in Miss Alabama Teen USA, she will tour Alabama and promote TALK, especially to the state legislature. The winner also will attend scheduled appearances to represent Alabama and meet “sister queens from other states.”

A senior at James Clemens High School, Rosalee is undecided about college, but the University of Alabama in Huntsville has offered full tuition. For two years, she already has studied Russian at UAH. She will major in either international relations or political science.

Rosalee serves on Student Advisory Committee with Madison City Schools. She works part time at Lucky Finds.

Her parents are Alexander and Susan Mahdi.