SIKESTON'S AUDRA SHERMAN HOPES TO WIN MISS TEEN USA PAGEANT TONIGHT

SIKESTON -- The bright smile on the face of the tiny, green-eyed teen is not a forced one.

Audra Lynne Sherman, Miss Missouri Teen USA, has every right to smile because she is one step away from becoming Miss Teen USA.

The 18-year-old, who is the daughter of Sikeston's Ron and Karen Carmody and the late John Sherman, is in Biloxi, Miss., site of this year's Miss Teen USA pageant.

Unlike pageants on the local and state level, candidates must arrive two weeks before the final night of competition, which will be broadcast live on CBS at 8 tonight.

"We have a two-week preparation time with the first week set aside strictly to learn the dance production numbers," said Sherman in a recent interview.

"I'm real excited and a little nervous about competing in this pageant," said Sherman. "It's kind of scary competing at this level because the competition gets a lot tougher."

Dancing is not something new to Sherman; she has been involved in many dance-related activities. "Our (Sikeston) cheerleading squad has always done a lot of dancing," she said. "Crystal Robinson always put a lot of difficult moves into our routines.

"I'm not too nervous about the dance performance because I know there will be some girls who have trained for a long time while others haven't trained at all."

For Sherman and the other contestants the two weeks before the pageant meant non-stop action from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. They filmed with the CBS crews for introductions of the girls in various activities on the Biloxi coast and in the city of Biloxi.

There also were activities for the girls and their parents.

"Although I'll be very busy and won't get to see her much, my mom is going to stay here (Biloxi) with me during the competition," said Sherman. "It will be great to have her here for support and knowing that if I need something she's right there."

Along with preparing for the CBS stage production, the girls were expected to attend all of the functions and rehearsals and manage to "hold it all together" as they represent their state.

The competition itself consists of dress rehearsals to familiarize the contestants with the procedures of the Miss Teen USA pageant, preliminary night competition, two evenings of personal interviews with each of the judges on a one-on-one basis, and the final telecast production tonight, during which the 12 semifinalists will be announced and then the new Miss Teen USA will be crowned.

The personal interview competition is one of the most important elements to the pageant. "There will be a panel of celebrity judges who will be conducting the interviews. I'm expecting there to be a total of nine," said Sherman.

"I'm the last person to be interviewed by the judges on Aug. 17, which I feel is real positive because I'm hoping they'll remember me."

The new Miss Teen USA will receive more than $150,000 in cash and prizes, including scholarships, wardrobe for her reigning year, make-up, accessories, trips and many other prizes. She will travel with Miss USA and Miss Universe worldwide.

Sherman believes the whole experience has helped her grow and mature in her relationships with other people. "I was so busy this summer that I had very little time to spend with my friends, which made the time I did have even more important," said Sherman.

"All my friends have been supportive of me, which has made this whole experience that much easier. Since they found out I could win a trip for four to Cancun they've been wanting me to win even more than before."

Sherman also believes she is more prepared for college than she was before. "I think this whole experience has made me more mature and ready for college. I can now handle myself better with people, and have learned to schedule my time accordingly," said Sherman.

As Miss Missouri Teen USA Sherman has made several appearances. "It seems really strange when people come up and ask me for my autograph. I keep thinking, wow, you really want my autograph," said Sherman.

At a reception in Sikeston, Sherman modeled several of the items she would be wearing in the competition. Also, family and friends were asked to sign a poster with Sherman's symbol of success, a bumblebee, which she took with her to Biloxi.

"I chose the bumblebee as a symbol because aerodynamically he can't fly. But no one ever told him that, so he just keeps on flying," she explained.