Local teen empowers peers through statewide pageant platform

by Judy Stringer

Reigning National American Miss Ohio Teen Alexia Andrachik didn’t walk away with from the NAM Nationals in November with a new sash and crown, but the Hudson High School senior didn’t leave Orlando empty handed either.

“It was honestly a life-changing experience,” she said. “Just getting to meet so many amazing, accomplished girls from all over the country was very rewarding and something I will be forever grateful for.”

Alexia began competing in pageants last year after a hip injury sidelined her martial arts career. Before the injury, the fifth-degree black belt in Taekwondo, and daughter of Asian Sun owners Ryan and Karen Andrachik, excelled at Taekwondo tournaments, earning three gold medals in national championships.

Today, she uses those moves to educate young women about personal safety via short video tutorials posted to her “Kick Like A Girl Safety Tips” TikTok account. The videos cover how to throw a proper punch, for example, what to do if you’re alone for a Door Dash delivery or how to safely use a rideshare.

“My entire pageant platform is based around Taekwondo and teaching my national and international peers basic self-defense moves and strategies,” Alexia explained. “Knowing how to defend yourself is so empowering, and I think that everyone, especially young women, should have the knowledge and ability to protect themselves. Having that as a sort of unique platform has been a big part of my success in pageants.”

Alexia is also involved in charity work, which her mother Karen said is another important aspect of competing in pageants. She helps plan and promote Asian Sun’s annual holiday food and toy drive, and for the last two years has participated in Akron General Hospital’s Reach Out and Read drive, collecting nearly 3,000 books for children in need.

In addition, Alexia and her National Art Honor Society peers at HHS recently created handmade holiday cards that she delivered to Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank for its December food distributions. She also participates in other service opportunities as a member of the high school’s New Dimensions class and is a varsity cheerleader.

Alexia said “tons” of work goes into preparing for pageants. While runway and modeling skills came “pretty easily,” she added, her biggest challenge was public speaking and preparing for interviews.

“You sit with judges and it’s like round robin. Each judge gets the chance to ask you whatever he or she wants, and you have to quickly figure out how to respond and ideally bring that back to your platform,” she said.

Still, Alexia loves the competition and treasures the sisterhood and friends she’s made since being named Miss Ohio Teen in June. The crown also has afforded her some unique opportunities like meeting fashion designers and walking in New York Fashion Week.

“Making appearances,” she said, has been one of her favorite parts. Alexia has served as “visiting royalty” to several other state pageants along with local appearances at places like Cleveland’s Ronald McDonald House and in the Labor Day Celebrate Hudson parade.

“Even at nationals, as much as I enjoyed the competition itself, we got to go to Disney World and represent NAM, and it was so fun walking around with my Miss Ohio Teen sash and having little girls, particularly someone from Ohio, be so excited to see me and ask for photos,” she said.

“We have learned that wherever you go with the sash on people will yell out ‘O-H’ and you have to be ready to respond ‘I-O,’” Karen added.

If Karen gets her way, Alexia will be reciting the Buckeye chant regularly. She’d like her daughter to attend The Ohio State University in the fall. Alexia is currently leaning toward Clemson University but said she’d be happy – and closer to home – at Ohio State as well.

Either way, she wants to study broadcast journalism with hopes of being a TV correspondent one day.

“I plan to continue doing pageants too,” she said. “I love every aspect of it from getting ready to compete to actually being at the pageant itself. I never want to stop.” ∞