Another title for Vernon teen

Photo: Kelsey Raber Photography

Samantha Sewell has another title to add to her growing list of achievements.

Sewell was recently named Miss World Wide Teen Canada.

The win is Sewell's third national title.

The competition for Miss World Wide Teen Canada was held online and Sewell had to submit an essay, pictures and a video.

“I'm the first ever Canadian to have the title,” she said of the international competition. “They don't give it out every year. You have to meet the criteria to get it.”

Among the needed criteria was charity work and the Vernon teen has given lots of time to help various agencies.

Her passion lies in anti-bullying messages, something she knows a lot about.

When Sewell was younger, her parents were told she would never speak. The Vernon Secondary School graduate proved the doctors wrong and has spoken at dozens of events in front of thousands of people.

“After being bullied for most of my life, I decided to take a stand against it. I had begun to volunteer in the VSS Resource room and quickly realized that they were constantly being bullied. I began to stand up for the students in that class and while doing so I felt more inclined to stand up for myself as well," Sewell wrote on her blog.

“I will always continue to tell my story in the hope of helping anyone who is being bullied and excluded, and I am so grateful for the opportunities that pageantry has given me to do this."

Sewell is now working on an inspirational video featuring several of her fellow pageant queens.

“It shows we all had struggles and we all overcame them,” said the 18 year old. “I have been working on it for the past three months now.”

The video will be released later this year on Youtube and Facebook.

She also plans on continuing with her anti-bullying message through public speaking.

“I want to travel and show no matter what challenges you are facing, you can overcome them,” said Sewell.