SMITHFIELD – On a whim, Smithfield’s Allison Lawton, 18, decided to sign up for a chance to be in the Miss Rhode Island Teen USA beauty pageant and potentially move forward to compete in the nationwide Miss Teen USA.
After sending in an application and conducting an interview, Lawton said she was excited to find out last week that she was chosen to compete in the Miss Rhode Island Teen USA on Aug. 7 and 8.
Lawton, daughter of Councilor T. Michael Lawton and Kerri Lawton, said though she did theater as a child, she has never competed in a beauty pageant before now. She graduated from Smithfield High School in 2020, playing basketball and was a member of the National Honor Society. She said she is looking at the pageant as an opportunity to show she is a well-rounded person.