LU Dance team member Lauren Bond honored as Miss Texas Teen Volunteer

Liberty University freshman Lauren Bond, a member of the LU Dance team from Plano, Texas, was crowned the 2024 Miss Texas Teen Volunteer on Saturday at the Lewisville (Texas) Grand Theater. She will compete against contestants from 49 other states at the Miss Teen Volunteer America pageant from March 6-9 in Jackson, Tenn.

Miss Volunteer America is a nationwide, service-oriented scholarship program based in Tennessee that seeks to empower young women across the country through educational scholarships and extraordinary opportunities. Principles of the Miss Volunteer America Pageant mission include Scholarship, Education, Responsibility, Volunteerism, and Empowerment (S.E.R.V.E.). The esteemed program provides personal and professional opportunities for young women who promote compassion, service, leadership, and volunteerism throughout their communities.

"This is the best title to win, in my opinion," said LU Dance Head Coach Christine Ewald, who lived in Texas while a member of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading team in the mid-1990s. "We strive daily to become more like Jesus through servant leadership, so this is a huge win for her, the Dance Team, Club Sports, and Liberty University as a whole."

Bond swept the talent, fitness & wellness, evening gown, and interview awards for the Teen division of the competition.

"I have grown so much, and the Miss Texas Teen Volunteer organization has played a significant role in my journey," she said. "Now I get to represent my home state on the national stage, and I am dedicated to making Texas proud."

During her year of service as a pageant winner, Bond will partner with organizations such as Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Hearts to Homes Foundation, and various other community events while continuing to promote her public service campaign, "Different People Make a Difference."

Through that social impact initiative, Bond aims to change the negative perception people have of others who may be different physically, socially, or mentally, by demonstrating that they, too, are fearfully and wonderfully made in God's image.

"I grew up with an autistic brother, and I never really understood his outlook on life," Bond told The Hawk Eye, Hebron High School's student newspaper, after winning the Miss Dallas-Fort Worth Area Outstanding Teen title as during her junior year in 2021. "When I got diagnosed with scoliosis … I had my own battle to face. After my surgery I looked back on my whole journey and realized that I shouldn't (accept) all that negativity and instead I should make it an advantage."

Bond underwent scoliosis surgery in July 2020, and she said her recovery process was accelerated by the fact that she had grown up as a dancer.

"It was a life changing experience for her, in a good way," Lauren's father, Michael Bond, told The Hawk Eye regarding the surgery. "She is a very accomplished dancer and she had to take time off and reflect on healing. She has embraced it and I'm really proud of her for her initiative and just not letting that slow her down. She's a highly motivated kid."

He said the Texas pageant has benefited Lauren Bond in helping her overcome her condition and to blossom into a confident young woman.

"It's not just about beauty, it's the whole package — talent, intelligence, being able to think, and then how you present yourself," he told The Hawk Eye. "It's a great thing, particularly for females, as they move on in their life and I completely support it."

LU Dance team member Lauren Bond honored as Miss Texas Teen Volunteer

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Lauren Bond

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