Nataliya Baltsevych
Everything happens for a reason.
It may sound cliché, but it’s an empowering ethos for Ridgefield High School senior Nataliya Baltsevych. She said she’s used it her whole life and employed it again last month to win the 2014 Miss Teen New Haven competition as she qualified for the 2015 National Miss Teen Competition in Orlando.
“I take every opportunity that comes my way, and I’m so grateful for everything in my life, so why not take a chance?” she said about her decision to enter the pageant after receiving a letter in late February.
“At first I thought it was a joke, because I had never registered before,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like it, but I have a strong confidence in myself because of everything I’ve been through, so I never doubted myself that I could do it and that I could win.”
Ms. Baltsevych’s journey has been much different from that her peers at RHS, but she hasn’t allowed challenges to hold her back.
Coming from a small town called Zalishchyky in the western region of Ukraine, she relocated to America with her parents and two sisters when she was 11.
Upon her arrival at the land of opportunity, though, she had to separate from her parents and go live with relatives — a moment that changed her life.
“People have to remember that all changes are difficult, but they are necessary to go through in order to build character,” she said. “It helps me appreciate everything I have.
“Not realizing how lucky one can be is a really bad mistake, because things do not last forever and we have to make the best out of them.”
With both of her parents working back in Ukraine so she and her sisters could afford to live in America, Ms. Baltsevych took on responsibilities that most kids don’t see until long after college — managing family expenses, making appointments, and filling out school and doctor forms for her two younger siblings, Yana and Anna.
“If these changes in my life never occurred, I may not have realized that being independent and responsible are key aspects to a successful life,” she said.
The wisdom she obtained at a young age has allowed her to embrace the world she lives in now — a world where she lives with her parents again, in America.
“The journey I took was difficult and full of challenges, but it made me the person I am today,” she said of going through middle school and some of high school without her parents.
“I see myself as a confident and intelligent young lady who can reach anything in life, she said. “I have come to the understanding that everything my parents have ever done has been for my own benefit.”
RHS senior Nataliya Baltsevych won the 2014 Miss Teen New Haven competition.
Despite growing up far from her homeland, Ms. Baltsevych wasn’t shy of success at an early age.
She won a holiday greeting card contest when she was in sixth grade, and her card was sent to then President George W. Bush.
Two years later, she received East Ridge Middle School’s Assistant Administrator’s Award in recognition of her contributions to the school community.
In high school, it has been no different — she’s a member of the National Honor Society and has studied Spanish and Mandarin for multiple years, even though she’s already fluent in Ukrainian, English and Russian.
When the letter came from the pageant committee in February, it was her sister Yana who pushed her to compete.
“She always tells me she wants to see me on TV and do modeling — she just sees me in that kind of industry,” Ms. Baltsevych said.
The most difficult challenge she faced before the competition was finding someone to sponsor her from town.
She prepared a brochure about herself and wrote a letter, delivering it in person to several businesses
“They don’t teach you in school how to go up to a stranger and ask for something like that,” she said. “It’s hard to convince someone to believe in you without ever meeting them before.”
She eventually found two sponsors — her family and Resolution Energy Group, for which she will intern this spring before graduating.
The two-day competition that took place in New Haven and then in Waterbury on April 5 and 6 included a personal interview competition followed by casual and formal wear competitions.
She had interviewed for a job only once before going in front of the pageant’s interview committee, which consisted of five judges.
“You just had to impress the judges and tell them about yourself — it felt like it went by in a second,” she said. “To be honest, I don’t even remember what they asked me because I was a little bit nervous.”
Confidence prevailed, and she won the judges over with her positive attitude and her experience coming to America at the age of 11.
The next day she dazzled them when she decided to wear the Ukrainian national costume, which included a vyshyvanka, a zapaska, and seed beads jewelry — a must-have in a female costume.
“I chose to wear my national costume because that’s what makes me unique and that’s what makes me be who I am,” she said. “Where I’m from gives me my identity.”
She celebrated the victory, along with three other regional qualifiers from different age groups, with family — united at last after years of separation.
“My dad was the happiest human being when I won,” she laughed. “He’s been sending pictures to everyone back home — it’s a big thing for him that his daughter is competing for a national title. …
“My mom made me realize that I’m worth everything in this world and never to settle for less than what I deserve, and my dad showed me what hard work’s like and showing that nothing comes easy in life,” she added. “Without my sisters Valeriya, Yana, and Anna, I’d be nowhere near the person I am.”
She dedicated the victory to Heaven’s Hundred — a group dedicated to those who died on Euromaidan, and to the rest of the Ukrainians who have fought for their freedom.
Ms. Baltsevych will go back home to Ukraine in July to see her older sister, Valeriya, get married.
Next after that is college at the University of Vermont, where she wants to study to become a doctor.
“I want to become a surgeon because I want to save lives; also, because it is a hard profession,” she said. “I always go after challenges and hard things because I always set high goals for myself.
“High goals not only motivate me to become a successful person, but also motivate those around me,” she said. “I want to do a lot in life and I’m positive I can reach all my goals.”
Winning the national competition in December 2015 would be a big boost in her collegiate dreams, as the top scholarship is worth $30,000.
“I want to pay for my own college,” she said. “Throughout this journey, my parents have given up so many of their own dreams just for their kids to succeed, and now that I know that I’m capable of taking care of myself, I want to make my parents’ dreams come true.”
As for bringing home the top prize in Orlando, it’s just another challenge she’s confident she can overcome.
“I think it’s going to go well; I’m just going to be myself and be happy to be a part of it,” she said. “It’s in Disney World, and I guess that’s where all dreams can come true.”