When interviewing Ireland Mercado, a senior here at Esperanza, she answered questions about her time here at Esperanza and her new adventure as “Miss Placentia’s Outstanding Teen”. When talking about her experience with the pageant she said that she first heard about this competition about two years ago, but last year was the year she really understood what it was about. Ireland mentioned that she was actually watching her friends compete in it last year, and started to realize that it was not a beauty pageant, it was something that was beneficial to her community. As she was explaining her roles for this title, technically she is an ambassador for the city, so  Ireland does not just go to events for Placentia but for Yorba Linda too. When thinking about the future as “Miss Placentia’s Outstanding Teen” She is very excited for what’s to come, especially because when first applied for this competition there was a very little chance that she was going to win. In the spring, many of the title holders from all around the state go and compete at the annual “Miss California” pageant, to hopefully gain the title of “Miss California”. This pageant is something that she is able to compete at because there is a “teen” category. When asking Ireland questions she exclaimed that she is going to go and compete in Fresno this spring. She is very very very excited to go because she wants to be able to meet girls from other counties all around the state of California. Ireland mentioned that she has already been in contact with some of the other girls that are competing and has become friends with them. A major part of this competition as many may know is the talent competition. Ireland was saying that her talent is singing. A little background on her is that she has been doing musical theater since about 7th Grade, but she just joined the show choir program at Esperanza last year. Ireland Mercado says that “singing has always been a passion of mine, and getting to share it with other people is an amazing feeling.” Other than her “Miss Placentia” life Ireland does a lot of volunteering in her free time especially at her church. Her life is so busy that the times she is not doing homework, volunteering, or doing tasks for the Miss Placentia Organization, she is sleeping. When thinking about the future it can be scary and overwhelming, but for Miss Ireland she already has a plan in mind about what hers is going to look like. Next year she is goingto attend Fullerton Junior College for two years and then going transfer to a 4 year University to study film. She wants to be in the film industry no matter what, when it comes to specifics she does not know exactly what she is going to do. She could be a director, actress, producer, the possibilities are endless for Miss Placentia’s Outstanding Teen, Ireland Mercado.